Hong Kong high-rise fire kills at least 94, rescue efforts continue

Firefighters continued to battle a massive blaze at a high-rise apartment complex in Hong Kong, as the death toll rose to 94, making it one of the deadliest fires in the city’s modern history.

Rescuers were seen moving apartment to apartment with flashlights as thick smoke poured from some windows at the Wang Fuk Court complex in Tai Po district, a northern suburb near Hong Kong’s border with mainland China, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

Officials said firefighters were still working on a handful of apartments and trying to enter all units in the seven towers to ensure no further casualties.

“Our firefighting operation is almost complete,” said Derek Armstrong Chan, deputy director of Fire Services Operations. Firefighters were working hard “to prevent the debris and embers from flaring up. What’s next is the search and rescue operation,” he added.

Video footage showed rescuers searching in the dark, with orange flames visible inside several windows, though the complex was largely a blackened ruin. Authorities reported more than 70 injured, including 11 firefighters, and about 900 people were evacuated.

Three men, directors and an engineering consultant of a construction company, were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. “We have reason to believe that those in charge of the construction company were grossly negligent,” said Eileen Chung, a senior superintendent of police. Police also found highly flammable plastic foam panels attached to the windows of one tower.

The housing estate, built in the 1980s, was undergoing major renovations. Officials said the fire likely started on external scaffolding and spread rapidly, aided by windy conditions.

“While we know that bamboo scaffolding has a long history in Hong Kong, its flame retardancy is inferior to that of metal scaffolding. For safety reasons, the government believes that a complete switch to metal scaffolding should be implemented in suitable working environments,” said Eric Chan, Chief Secretary for Administration.

Hong Kong leader John Lee said contact had been lost with 279 people on November 27, though authorities did not provide an update on those still missing. The fire is the deadliest in Hong Kong in decades, surpassing a 1996 commercial building blaze in Kowloon that killed 41.

Pope Leo XIV sent a telegram to Hong Kong’s bishop, expressing sorrow over the fire and offering prayers for the injured, their families, and emergency workers.

By Aghakazim Guliyev