A devastating fire that ripped through a Hong Kong residential complex has claimed at least 128 lives, becoming the city's deadliest blaze in decades and triggering a major corruption investigation into renovation safety failures.
Catastrophic Blaze Engulfs Residential Complex
The intense fire broke out on Wednesday, November 26, 2025 at the Wang Fuk Court complex in Hong Kong's Tai Po district. Flames rapidly spread across seven of the eight towers in the residential estate that housed approximately 4,800 residents. The fire burned out of control for nearly 40 hours before firefighters fully extinguished it on Friday morning.
Fire crews faced enormous challenges reaching residents who had made emergency calls during the height of the blaze. The inferno resulted in 79 injuries, including twelve firefighters, and claimed the life of one firefighter. Even two days after the fire began, smoke continued to drift from the charred building skeletons as occasional flare-ups occurred.
Resident Warnings and Safety Concerns Ignored
Documents reveal that residents had been raising safety concerns about the renovation project for almost a year before the tragic fire. Specific complaints focused on the scaffolding netting materials being used in the ongoing renovations at Wang Fuk Court.
Hong Kong's labor department confirmed receiving these complaints and stated that officials conducted 16 inspections of the renovation project since July 2024. Authorities had issued multiple written warnings to contractors about meeting fire safety requirements, with the most recent inspection occurring just one week before the fire erupted.
Preliminary investigations indicate the fire started on lower-level scaffolding netting of one building. Security Secretary Chris Tang explained that the blaze ignited highly flammable foam panels covering windows, causing glass to shatter and enabling rapid fire spread into interior spaces.
Corruption Probe and Criminal Arrests
Police arrested three men from a construction company on suspicion of manslaughter and gross negligence last Wednesday. After being released on bail, the Independent Commission Against Corruption rearrested the same three men on Saturday night, citing their leadership roles in the renovations.
ICAC had previously arrested seven men and one woman associated with the renovation project. While police haven't officially identified the company involved, documents from the homeowners association website showed Prestige Construction & Engineering Company overseeing the renovations.
The labor department revealed three prosecutions had been brought against the company for safety regulation breaches related to working at height. Two convictions resulted in fines totaling 30,000 Hong Kong dollars ($3,850). The company also received three separate fines in 2023 for violations unrelated to the Tai Po project.
Systemic Safety Failures Emerge
Further investigation uncovered additional safety deficiencies. Fire Services Director Andy Yeung confirmed that some fire alarms in the complex, which housed many elderly residents, failed to sound during testing. Authorities continue working to identify 44 of the 128 recovered bodies, with approximately 150 people still unaccounted for.
The dead included two Indonesian migrant workers, with eleven other migrants from Indonesia working as domestic helpers in the complex remaining missing. The tragedy has prompted widespread mourning across Hong Kong, with flags lowered to half-staff and Chief Executive John Lee leading a three-minute silence on Saturday.
This fire represents Hong Kong's deadliest since 1996, when a commercial building fire in Kowloon killed 41 people. The 1948 warehouse fire remains the territory's deadliest, claiming 176 lives according to historical records.
