Camilla Jessen
Deadliest Hong Kong fire in 63 years.
A catastrophic fire in Hong Kong has left at least 55 people dead and hundreds unaccounted for.
The blaze ripped through a cluster of public housing towers in the Tai Po district, becoming the city’s deadliest fire in more than six decades.
Rising death toll
The inferno erupted at Wang Fuk Court at 2:51 p.m. on 26 November and quickly spread across seven of the estate’s eight 32-storey blocks, home to roughly 4,600 residents.
As of the morning of 27 November, emergency services had contained fires in four towers, but flames were still burning in at least two others.
Authorities say around 300 residents remain unaccounted for, while roughly 900 people have been displaced and are staying in temporary shelters. Another 45 survivors are in critical condition in hospital.
Officials classified the disaster as a level-five fire, the highest severity category, marking Hong Kong’s deadliest blaze in 63 years.
Suspected causes
The exact ignition source is still unknown.
However, police say the fire appears to have spread rapidly due to bamboo scaffolding and construction mesh sheeting on one of the buildings. These materials are widely used in Hong Kong but they’re not fire-resistant.
Windy conditions may have accelerated the spread between towers. Investigators also found styrofoam attached to window frames, a factor believed to have intensified the flames.
Superintendent Eileen Chung told Sky News the suspected negligence of senior figures at the construction company is now central to the investigation.
“We have reason to believe that those in charge at the company were grossly negligent,” she said.
Police have arrested three company employees, including two directors and an engineering consultant, on suspicion of manslaughter.
Echoes of Grenfell
The tragedy has drawn immediate comparisons to the Grenfell Tower fire, which killed 72 people in London in 2017 and exposed lethal flaws in cladding and building-safety oversight.
Following Grenfell, the UK overhauled fire-safety regulations, banned certain cladding materials, and scrutinised the use of flammable scaffolding.
The Hong Kong blaze has reignited those debates, with attention now focused on the city’s widespread use of bamboo scaffolding during building renovations.
Sources: Sky News, Unilad
