HONG KONG — A devastating inferno that consumed a residential complex in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district has claimed 128 lives, triggering massive urban safety reforms and corruption investigations. The Wang Fuk Court complex fire, which raged for 40 hours before being fully extinguished Friday, represents the city’s most lethal blaze in recent memory.
Mourners continued gathering Sunday at the blackened buildings, creating makeshift memorials with white roses, carnations, and handwritten notes. The emotional tributes reflected a city in collective grief as residents bowed in prayer toward the scorched towers where many elderly residents and migrant workers perished.
The catastrophe has exposed critical safety failures in building renovations. All eight 31-story towers were shrouded in bamboo scaffolding draped with nylon netting and polystyrene panels—highly combustible materials that accelerated the fire’s spread. Preliminary investigations indicate the blaze originated Wednesday afternoon on lower-level scaffolding before winds propelled flames upward and across buildings.
Hong Kong authorities have taken decisive action against Prestige Construction & Engineering Company, suspending all 28 of its ongoing projects. Government statements cited “serious deficiencies in site safety management,” particularly the extensive use of flammable foam boards that violated safety protocols.
The legal aftermath has expanded significantly, with anti-corruption authorities arresting eleven individuals including company directors, engineering consultants, and scaffolding subcontractors. Three initially arrested for suspected manslaughter were re-arrested by the Independent Commission Against Corruption amid allegations of gross negligence.
The human toll continues to emerge, with approximately 150 residents still unaccounted for and 44 bodies awaiting identification. Among confirmed fatalities are two Indonesian migrant workers and one Filipino domestic helper, whose government noted she had “made innumerable sacrifices to provide a better life for her family.
In response, China’s Ministry of Emergency Management announced immediate nationwide inspections of high-rise buildings, targeting bamboo scaffolding, non-flame-retardant materials, and firefighting equipment deficiencies. The tragedy has prompted wholesale reevaluation of urban safety protocols across China’s densely populated cities.