At least 13 people died after a massive fire engulfed several high-rise residential buildings in an apartment complex in Hong Kong, the city’s emergency services announced Wednesday, marking one of the deadliest fire incidents in the territory in recent years.
The fire erupted at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, a northeastern district in Hong Kong’s New Territories region, shortly before 3 p.m. local time, authorities stated. Officials have not yet provided information about what caused the blaze to start or how it spread so rapidly through the residential complex.
Nine individuals were confirmed dead at the scene whilst four additional victims died after being transported to hospital for treatment, emergency services reported during a Wednesday night news conference. At least two other individuals remained in critical condition, raising concerns the death toll could climb higher.
A 37-year-old firefighter was among those killed whilst battling the blaze, Hong Kong’s director of fire services, Andy Yeung, confirmed during the briefing. “I am profoundly grieved at the loss of this dedicated and gallant fireman,” Yeung stated, paying tribute to the emergency responder who lost his life attempting to save others.
Construction work was underway on the residential towers before the fire broke out, and falling debris and scaffolding materials from the buildings created additional hazards for the public and emergency personnel working to extinguish the flames and rescue trapped residents, authorities indicated at the news conference.
The official emergency response mobilised approximately 400 police officers, 128 fire vehicles and more than 760 first responders from various agencies, authorities stated, reflecting the scale and severity of the incident that required massive coordination amongst emergency services.
Photographs and video footage showed at least three residential towers engulfed in flames whilst firefighters worked from multiple positions to extinguish the fire and prevent it from spreading to additional structures. Images captured the fire appearing to spread rapidly across bamboo scaffolding erected around the complex, with the highly combustible material accelerating the blaze’s progression up the exterior of the buildings.
Media reports indicated that some residents became trapped inside the buildings as the fire spread, unable to evacuate through stairwells and corridors filled with smoke and flames, creating life-threatening situations that complicated rescue operations.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee stated he chaired an emergency governmental meeting in response to the fire and expressed condolences to the families of those killed and injured by the catastrophic blaze that has shaken the community.
The Wang Fuk Court complex consists of eight high-rise buildings containing almost 2,000 apartments, according to property records, making it a densely populated residential area where fires pose extreme risks due to the concentration of residents and the challenges of evacuating tall buildings.
The apartment blocks were wrapped in bamboo scaffolding at the time of the fire, a construction material widely used throughout Hong Kong for building maintenance and renovation projects. In March, the city’s Development Bureau announced plans to phase out bamboo scaffolding in favour of metal alternatives, citing concerns that bamboo can deteriorate over time and possesses “high combustibility, giving rise to safety concerns,” a warning that now appears tragically prescient.
The Hong Kong government opened temporary emergency shelters for evacuated residents at community halls and a local school, providing accommodation for those unable to return to their homes. Residents in surrounding areas were advised to remain inside with windows closed and to avoid the affected area due to smoke and ongoing emergency operations.
Hong Kong was under an “extreme” fire risk warning at the time of the incident, according to a notice issued by the Hong Kong Observatory on Monday, reflecting dangerously dry conditions that increase fire hazards and accelerate flame spread when blazes occur.
