A catastrophic fire that engulfed a public housing complex in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district has resulted in at least 75 fatalities, with approximately 300 residents still unaccounted for, marking the territory’s deadliest blaze in six decades. The tragedy unfolded on Wednesday afternoon when flames rapidly consumed seven of eight tower blocks at Wang Fuk Court, a subsidized housing estate built in 1983.
The devastation has exposed critical safety failures, including the absence of functioning fire alarms and the use of highly flammable materials during recent renovations. Authorities have arrested three construction executives for “gross negligence” after discovering substandard plastic sheeting and polystyrene insulation on scaffolding that accelerated the fire’s spread.
Personal accounts reveal harrowing escapes and unbearable losses. Forty-five-year-old Mr. Chung received a final desperate call from his wife trapped in their 23rd-floor apartment with their cat. “Hang in there,” were his last words to her before communications ceased. After 24 hours of waiting, he now believes she perished in the smoke-filled flat.
The disaster disproportionately affected elderly residents, who comprise nearly 40% of the complex’s population. Many were physically unable to evacuate quickly through thick, toxic smoke that filled corridors within minutes. Seventy-two-year-old Grandma Chan escaped only after receiving an urgent call from her daughter abroad, while 82-year-old Grandma Wu abandoned her mahjong game when alerted by family calls rather than building alarms.
The Hong Kong government has announced immediate relief measures, including HK$10,000 payments to displaced families and a HK$300 million assistance fund. However, for survivors like Kyle Ho, who invested his family’s savings into their apartment, the future remains uncertain despite gratitude for their survival.
As firefighters continue their search operations, insisting they “haven’t given up” on finding survivors, the community mourns and demands accountability for one of Hong Kong’s most devastating urban disasters.