All that’s left: A man looking at the destroyed facade of the Wang Fuk Court residential estate in Tai Po, Hong Kong. — Bloomberg
The death toll from Hong Kong’s worst fire in nearly 80 years has risen to 128 and about 200 people remain missing from the high-rise residential complex that was engulfed by the blaze, the city’s security chief said yesterday.
The fire in the Wang Fuk Court development, with eight 32-storey towers in the northern district of Tai Po, started and quickly spread on Wednesday afternoon.
“We do not rule out the possibility that more bodies could be discovered when police enter the building for detailed investigations,” Hong Kong Security Chief Chris Tang said adding that only 39 of the 128 dead had been identified.
Tang also said fire alarms in the complex had not been working properly.
Rescue efforts had now been concluded and at least 79 people, including 12 firefighters were injured, he said.
“Our aim now is to make sure the temperature decreases in the building and once everything is deemed safe, police will collect evidence and conduct further investigation,” Tang said.
The estate housing more than 4,600 people had been wrapped in bamboo scaffolding and green mesh for renovation work.
Police said they had arrested three construction company officials on suspicion of manslaughter for using unsafe materials, including flammable foam boards blocking windows.
Residents of the housing complex were told by authorities last year that they faced “relatively low fire risks” after complaining repeatedly about fire hazards posed by ongoing renovation works, the city’s Labour Department said.
The residents had raised concerns over the renovations in September 2024, including about the potential flammability of the protective green mesh contractors had used to cover the bamboo scaffolding erected around the buildings, a department spokesperson said in an email.
While firefighters contained the blaze yesterday and doused the still-smouldering towers, families had the grim task of looking at photographs of the dead taken by rescue workers.
In disbelief: A woman reacting near the site of the fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court housing complex in Tai Po, Hong Kong. — Reuters
Mirra Wong, whose parents were living in Wang Fuk Court, was looking for her father.
“Just recognise some pictures, maybe it’s (the) body of my dad. He is still missing,” said Wong, 48.
Another resident, who did not want to be identified, said a friend’s wife was among those unaccounted for.
“Rationally speaking, it means there’s no hope,” she said. “But the bodies still have to be found, right? Let me see if they’ve found them... It’s just too sorrowful. When it involves people you know, it’s even more painful.”
Dozens of domestic workers from the Philippines had been caught up in the disaster and 19 were still missing, said Edwina Antonio, executive director at migrant women refuge association Bethune House.
Indonesia’s consulate said two of the dead were nationals working as domestic helpers.
Hong Kong has around 368,000 domestic workers, mostly women from low-income Asian countries who live with their employers. — Reuters
