Firefighters in Hong Kong battled for a second day on Thursday to contain a massive blaze that tore through seven high-rise residential towers, killing at least 83 people and leaving more than 280 missing in what officials say is the city’s worst disaster in seven decades.
At least 76 people were injured — 15 in critical condition and 28 serious — and a firefighter was among the dead. Authorities said many residents remained trapped inside the buildings.
Crews were still working to put out flames at the Wang Fuk Court apartment complex in Tai Po more than 24 hours after the fire began on Wednesday. Four of the seven affected blocks were brought under control, but fires continued to burn on upper floors of the remaining 31-story towers.
Full-scale rescue operations continued as victims were being pulled from the structures, the South China Morning Post reported. The cause of the fire remains unknown, and police have launched a criminal investigation.
More than 280 residents from the seven gutted towers — each 32 stories tall — are still unaccounted for. The Hong Kong government has announced a HKD 300 million (USD 43 million) relief fund and moved hundreds of evacuated residents to temporary shelters.
Wang Fuk Court, a subsidised housing estate built in 1983, comprises eight towers with nearly 2,000 apartments and roughly 4,600 residents, according to the 2021 census. Nearly 40% of the residents are over 60, many of whom have lived there since the estate opened. All eight towers were undergoing large-scale renovation and were wrapped in green mesh and bamboo scaffolding at the time of the blaze.
The fire department deployed 304 fire engines and rescue vehicles and used drones to monitor heat and prevent flare-ups.
Police arrested three people — two directors and a consultant for the renovation contractor — on suspicion of manslaughter after investigators found highly flammable styrofoam covering lift windows on every floor. Officials said the material accelerated the spread of the fire through corridors and into apartments. They also reported that the external mesh and sheeting failed to meet fire safety standards.
Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu has ordered inspections of all public housing estates currently under major renovation. Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed condolences and urged authorities to intensify efforts to extinguish the blaze, rescue those trapped, treat the injured, and support affected families.
