Burned buildings are seen at the scene of the fire at Wang Fuk court. Associated Press
Hong Kong firefighters carried out a final, painstaking search on Friday inside the charred remains of a massive apartment complex fire that claimed 94 lives, marking one of the city’s deadliest blazes in decades. Crews continued checking every unit of the seven devastated towers, hoping to find survivors before officially ending the rescue phase.
Final Push to Locate Possible Survivors
Deputy Fire Services Director Derek Armstrong Chan said teams focused on units that sent out more than 25 unanswered distress calls during the height of the fire. These apartments, mostly on higher floors, were among the last to be extinguished.
He confirmed the rescue mission was nearly complete. “Our firefighting operation is almost finished,” Chan said, adding that full entry into all damaged units would ensure no victims were missed.
How the Fire Raced Through Seven Towers
The fire broke out Wednesday afternoon in one tower of the Wang Fuk Court complex in Tai Po district, near the Hong Kong–China border. Bamboo scaffolding wrapped in renovation netting allowed the flames to leap rapidly from one high-rise to the next, engulfing seven of eight towers within hours.
More than 1,000 firefighters battled the massive five-alarm blaze for nearly 24 hours. Even two days later, smoke continued rising from the skeleton-like structures as flare-ups continued inside the wreckage.
A Community Left in Shock
The complex included nearly 2,000 apartments and housed around 4,800 residents, many of them elderly. Authorities said they had been unable to reach 279 residents as of early Thursday, though a full count of missing persons could not be made until all units were searched.
Over 70 people were injured, including 11 firefighters, and around 900 residents were relocated to temporary shelters.
Most victims lived in the first two towers where the fire spread the fastest. Officials said heavy smoke, blocked corridors, and rapid heat buildup contributed to the high death toll.
Renovation Work Under Investigation
The buildings, constructed in the 1980s, were undergoing a major renovation when the fire erupted. Hong Kong’s anti-corruption agency opened an investigation on Thursday after concerns emerged about possible irregularities in the project.
Police arrested three men—two company directors and an engineering consultant—on suspicion of manslaughter. Investigators pointed to gross negligence involving safety standards and fire-resistant materials.
Although police did not name the company, The Associated Press confirmed that Prestige Construction & Engineering Company oversaw the renovation work. Authorities seized multiple boxes of documents from the company’s office, where calls went unanswered.
Possible Use of Unsafe Materials
Fire investigators suspect that some exterior wall materials did not meet fire-resistance standards, which may have allowed the fire to spread unusually fast across multiple towers.
They also discovered plastic foam panels, known to be highly flammable, installed near elevator lobbies in the one unaffected tower. The panels were believed to have been placed by the construction team, though the purpose remains unclear.
Immediate Safety Checks Ordered
In response to the tragedy, authorities ordered urgent inspections of other housing estates undergoing large-scale renovations. Officials said they would review scaffolding setups, cladding materials, and fire safety compliance to prevent another catastrophic incident.
Deadliest Blaze in Decades
The Wang Fuk Court disaster is now considered Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in nearly 30 years. The last major tragedy occurred in 1996, when a commercial building blaze in Kowloon killed 41 people.
As firefighters complete their final sweep of the towers, families and residents await confirmation of the missing, hoping for closure after a tragedy that has shaken the entire city.
