The fire in seven buildings in a residential complex in Hong Kong It was already controlled, but it left about 75 dead and at least 280 missing, according to the latest figures released this Thursday by the emergency services and collected by the Madrid newspaper The Country.
The incident, which began on Wednesday afternoon, devastated seven of the eight 31-story blocks that make up the Wang Fuk Court complex in the Tai Po district and has become the worst of its kind in Hong Kong in the last three decades.
The fire, precise EFEbegan in one of the eight blocks and spread extremely quickly, fueled by bamboo scaffolding covered with safety mesh, waterproof tarps and expanding polystyrene sheets used in exterior rehabilitation works, which began in July 2024.
TOWER TRAGEDY: At least 13 people were killed after a massive fire ripped through a Hong Kong high-rise complex.
Residents say building alarms never went off as thick smoke spread through multiple towers. pic.twitter.com/Q9lxbetcEf
—Fox News (@FoxNews) November 26, 2025
The authorities consider the speed of spread “unusual” and have confirmed the presence of highly flammable expanded polystyrene materials inside the blocks.
According to the director of the Hong Kong Fire Brigade, Andy Yeung, the polystyrene used to seal the windows and scaffolding tarps acted as an accelerant, spreading the flames vertically and horizontally through corridors and facades.
The fire is “under complete control”
The head of the Hong Kong Executive, John Lee, stated this Thursday that the fires at the Wang Fuk Court residential complex “are now completely under control”, while search operations and care for those affected by the incident continue.
Lee, quoted by local media, pointed out that the authorities will provide shelter to 1,800 affected residents and that an assistance fund of 300 million Hong Kong dollars (38 million dollars, 33 million euros) will be established.
The Fire Department deployed 1,250 personnel, 304 emergency vehicles, 26 specialized teams and four drones for aerial surveillance, and continues to advance plant by plant in rescue and cooling tasks.
The commanders have warned of the risk of partial collapse of the scaffolding, from which fragments have already fallen, forcing staff to take extreme caution.
The police after those responsible
The police, for their part, have arrested two directors and an engineering consultant of the contractor responsible for the works, accused of reckless homicide for the use of materials that would have facilitated the rapid spread of the fire.
In addition, agents today searched the offices of the complex’s management company and the home of one of the suspects, as part of the investigation into the origin of the incident.
The Chief Executive, John Lee, described the tragedy as a “massive catastrophe” and announced the suspension of all campaign events ahead of the elections to the Legislative Council on December 7, in addition to opening the door to a possible review of the date of the elections.
The catastrophe, according EFEfar exceeds the balance of the Garley commercial building fire, which occurred in 1996 in Kowloon, which left 41 dead and which until now was the worst incident of its kind in peacetime in Hong Kong.
