Hong Kong, Nov 26: At least 13 people, including a firefighter, died and more than ten were injured after a massive fire tore through multiple high-rise towers in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district on Wednesday, authorities said. Dozens remain unaccounted for as rescue operations continue.
The blaze broke out in Wang Fuk Court, a 31-storey housing complex with 2,000 apartments across eight blocks. Thick black smoke and orange flames lit up the night sky as firefighters battled the fire into the evening. “A firefighter surnamed Ho lost his life in the line of duty,” the director of Fire Services said.
Residents described scenes of chaos and fear. Seventy-one-year-old Wong sobbed, saying his wife was trapped inside one of the buildings. Harry Cheung, 66, who has lived in Block Two for more than 40 years, recounted hearing “a very loud noise around 2:45 pm” before seeing flames engulf a nearby tower. “I don’t even know how I feel right now. I’m just thinking about where I’m going to sleep tonight because I probably won’t be able to go back home,” he said.
Observers on nearby walkways recorded scaffolding tumbling from buildings, some of which had been under renovation for about a year. Strong winds helped the fire spread to seven of the eight blocks, prompting the city to raise the alert to a No. 5 alarm, Hong Kong’s highest level.
Wang Fuk Court, part of the government’s subsidised home ownership scheme, has been occupied since 1983. Tai Po, near the border with mainland China, is a densely populated suburban district home to roughly 300,000 people. Hong Kong authorities have recently begun phasing out bamboo scaffolding in public construction, citing safety concerns, though it remains widely used.
The Transport Department said a section of Tai Po Road, one of the district’s main highways, has been closed, with buses diverted due to the fire. Residents gathered outside, shocked by the scale of the disaster. “Even though the fire in my block has been extinguished, seeing the fires all around still makes you feel terrible,” said 68-year-old YY Chan.
