Hong Kong apartment blaze finally doused, but death toll keeps rising
Firefighters rest in front of the Wang Fuk Court residential estate following a massive, deadly fire that tore through the complex in Tai Po district, Hong Kong, China, Nov. 28, 2025. Leung Man Hei/Bloomberg/Getty
Hong Kong — The death toll from a devastating fire at a Hong Kong residential complex rose to 128 on Friday, as authorities continued searching the charred buildings for survivors, Secretary for Security Chris Tang said. Officials warned the number could still increase.
The blaze broke out Wednesday afternoon at the Wang Fuk Court complex in Tai Po, a northern suburb near the city’s border with mainland China, and was fully extinguished Friday morning. Dozens of residents and firefighters were injured during the fire.
Fire crews spent hours combing through the high-rise apartments, focusing on units from which more than two dozen calls for help had gone unanswered during the blaze, according to Derek Armstrong Chan, deputy director of Hong Kong Fire Services.
“Our firefighting operation is almost complete,” Chan told reporters Friday.
The fire began in one of the eight towers and spread rapidly to seven buildings, fueled by bamboo scaffolding covered in netting for renovations. Over 1,000 firefighters battled the five-alarm blaze for roughly 24 hours, and smoke from occasional flare-ups continued to drift from the skeletal structures even two days later.
Officials expected the final search to conclude later Friday, after which the rescue phase of the operation will officially end. It remained unclear how many people were inside the complex, which contains nearly 2,000 apartments and approximately 4,800 residents. Hong Kong leader John Lee said early Thursday that officials had not been able to contact 279 residents.
“Efforts will be made to enter all units in the seven affected blocks to ensure there are no further casualties,” Chan said. He noted that a full accounting of missing residents would only be possible once the search is complete. Most of the priority apartments were on higher floors, where the fire was last brought under control.
More than 70 people were injured, including 11 firefighters, and around 900 were housed in temporary shelters. Most casualties occurred in the first two buildings to catch fire.
Investigation and Arrests
The complex, built in the 1980s and home to many elderly residents, was undergoing major renovations at the time of the fire. Hong Kong’s anti-corruption agency said Thursday that it is investigating potential corruption related to the project.
Three men—directors and an engineering consultant of a construction company—have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. Police allege gross negligence by company leaders. While authorities did not name the company, The Associated Press confirmed that Prestige Construction & Engineering Company oversaw the renovations. Police have seized documents from the company.
Investigators suspect some exterior materials did not meet fire-resistance standards, contributing to the rapid spread of the fire. Reports also indicate that fire alarm systems in at least some buildings may not have been functioning properly. Plastic foam panels, highly flammable, were found near elevators in the one unaffected tower; these panels were believed to have been installed by the construction company, though their purpose remains unclear.
Authorities plan immediate inspections of housing estates undergoing renovations to ensure construction materials and scaffolding comply with safety standards.
The fire is the deadliest in Hong Kong in decades, surpassing a 1996 Kowloon commercial building fire that killed 41 people.
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