Hong Kong’s worst fire in decades kills at least 44, hundreds missing

An eight-tower housing block in northern Hong Kong has been burning for some 20 hours, after a fire that began around 3 p.m. Wednesday transformed the complex into an inferno.

Hong Kong’s deadliest residential fire in decades has killed at least 44 people and left hundreds missing, throwing fresh scrutiny on the city’s housing standards as Chinese President Xi Jinping urges all-out efforts to reduce casualties.

An eight-tower housing block in northern Hong Kong has been burning for some 20 hours, after a fire that began around 3 p.m. Wednesday transformed the complex into an inferno. Hundreds of firefights worked overnight to rescue trapped residents. The blaze began on a section of bamboo scaffolding encasing the complex, then spread from building to building via the wooden poles and protective netting.

Smoke rises from residential buildings as fires continue to burn at Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong on November 27. Image: Lam Yik/Bloomberg

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee announced in the early hours of Thursday that 279 people were missing, and later said in a Facebook post that all housing estates undergoing major renovations would be inspected.

In the lone building that escaped the flames, Secretary for Security Chris Tang earlier said investigators had found foam board covering windows. “These foam boards are highly flammable and the fire spread very quickly, so we found their presence unusual,” he added.

Protective netting, waterproof cloth and plastic sheeting on the exterior of the buildings also burned far more intensely expected, he said. Police have arrested three senior figures from an engineering company on suspicion of manslaughter over the city’s worst housing fire since 44 people died in a tenement building in 1962.

Several people were rescued from the complex on stretchers Thursday morning and taken by ambulances, as the blazes became more confined. Body bags were also seen being carried away. Dozens more have been hospitalized and are in a serious condition.

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Bamboo poles and netting unscathed by the blaze cling to one of the buildings on the estate. Image: Lam Yik/Bloomberg

As the fire spread, Xi on Wednesday night expressed his condolences to families of the deceased and injured. More than one-third of the roughly 5 000 residents at Wang Fuk Estate — which was built as government-subsidised housing in the 1980s — are over age 65. Many elderly people in wheelchairs struggled to escape.

Hong Kong’s leaders were already under pressure to clean up the city’s housing sector, after Xi called to create “more decent” homes for the poor in one of the world’s most expensive real estate markets. The crisis comes days before legislative elections and throws a spotlight on the former British colony’s notoriously dense living conditions where multi-generational families often inhabit a single apartment.

The financial hub is also one of the few places in the world where bamboo is still widely used in construction, and an iconic feature of the city’s skyline. The disaster will likely intensify calls to phase out bamboo in favor of fire-resistant steel.

The air around the charred estate was filled with a burning smell Thursday morning, as explosions were heard on the top floors of 31-story high-rises where water hoses struggled to reach. Smoke billowed from the complex close to the city’s border with China, which has close to 2,000 units and was undergoing a lengthy renovation.

Peter Leung, 71, who lives in the estate and has three friends missing, said he’d paid HK$170,000 ($21,856) for the upgrading work.

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“The building management told us the exterior walls had damage and needed to be repaired,” he said, after spending the night at a shelter with 100 people. “But many residents were unwilling to pay that high a price and had filed complaints.”

Renovation works at Wang Fuk Court were carried out by Prestige Construction & Engineering Co. Bloomberg News visited Prestige’s office on Thursday, but the shutters were down and no one responded despite repeated knocking. Phone calls to the office went unanswered.

The disaster will likely draw comparisons with the Grenfell Tower fire in London, which killed 72 people in June 2017. That blaze was later deemed to be a the result of a “catalogue of failures” by the government and construction industry. While that tragedy unfolded in the middle of the night as residents slept, this fire began mid-afternoon when many people would have been awake.

Fire alarms didn’t go off, however, even after locals could smell smoke, residents told former district councilor Herman Yiu Kwan-ho, according to the South China Morning Post. Those inside were alerted only when a security guard knocked on their door, he said.

Workers carry rescued cats on November 27. Image: Lam Yik/Bloomberg

Deadly fires have prompted major housing policy overhauls in Hong Kong in the past. Most notably, the Shek Kip Mei fire in 1953 that displaced tens of thousands of refugees led to the start of the city’s public housing program, as the government provided resettlement housing for the residents.

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On Chinese social media, the Tai Po fire triggered discussion about the perceived dangers of high-rise living, with Weibo users citing concerns over maintenance following the past decade’s building binge. “No matter what caused the fire, it’s best to avoid buying apartments with more than 17 floors,” one user wrote, referencing an estimated height fire-truck ladders can reach. “Sell older high-rise apartments as soon as possible.”

Firefighters tackle the fire using elevated platforms and high-powered water hoses. Image: Yik Yeung-man/Bloomberg

A 37-year-old fireman was among the dead, after being found collapsed at the scene in the early hours of the blaze and rushed to hospital.

The affected estate is located in the suburban Tai Po district, which has about 300 000 residents and encompasses housing for various income ranges as well as parks and shopping malls. Rescue operations are expected to stretch into Thursday evening, more than 24 hours after the blaze started.

Scaffolding at Wang Cheong House in the complex caught fire first, deputy fire services director Derek Chan said at a media briefing five hours after the blaze began, according to public broadcaster RTHK.

“Debris and scaffolding of the affected buildings are falling down, so they pose additional danger to our frontline personnel,” he said, the outlet reported. “The temperature inside the buildings concerned are very high. It’s quite difficult for us to enter.”

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