Hong Kong deadliest fire in decades has raised serious concerns about corruption, negligence, and unsafe renovation practices at the Wang Fuk Court apartment complex, where at least 128 people lost their lives.
Fire Sweeps Through Seven Towers
The massive blaze erupted on Wednesday afternoon, engulfing seven of the eight residential towers in the northern suburbs. The complex housed about 4,800 residents, many of whom had raised safety concerns about renovation work more than a year before the disaster.
Arrests Made Over Negligence and Corruption
Police initially arrested three construction workers on suspicion of manslaughter and gross negligence. They were later released on bail.
A second wave of arrests included seven men and one woman, aged 40 to 63—among them scaffolding subcontractors, engineering directors, and project managers involved in the renovation. This group is now under investigation for corruption.
Officials have not publicly named the company involved, but documents from the homeowners association indicate that Prestige Construction & Engineering Company oversaw the renovation project. Police have seized boxes of documents from the firm.
Authorities are also examining whether the scaffolding netting and foam panels used during renovation contributed to the rapid spread of the fire.
Residents Reported Safety Problems Long Before the Fire
For nearly a year before the tragedy, residents had repeatedly warned Hong Kong authorities about the safety of the construction netting surrounding the buildings, according to documents reviewed by the AP.
The Labor Department confirmed receiving these complaints. Officials carried out 16 inspections since July 2024 and issued several written warnings to contractors about fire safety compliance.
The department said the netting’s product certificate met required standards—yet those same materials are now central to the investigation.
Preliminary findings show that the fire began on scaffolding at a lower level, then spread quickly when the foam panels ignited, according to Security Secretary Chris Tang. Police said the foam materials were highly flammable.
Tang added, “The blaze ignited the foam panels, shattered glass, and caused the fire to spread rapidly into interior spaces.”
Fire Alarms Failed to Sound in Some Areas
First responders reported that several fire alarms in the buildings did not activate during testing, said Andy Yeung, director of Hong Kong Fire Services. He did not specify how many alarms failed.
The complex, home to many elderly residents, relied on those alarms as a primary safety measure.
Blaze Took 40 Hours to Fully Extinguish
Firefighters struggled to contain the intense flames.
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The fire was brought under control after one day.
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It was not fully extinguished until Friday morning — about 40 hours after it began.
Crews focused on apartments from which emergency calls were received but were unreachable during the worst of the fire, said Fire Services deputy director Derek Armstrong Chan.
Twelve firefighters were among the 79 people injured, and one firefighter died in the operation.
Even two days later, smoke continued rising from the charred remains of the towers due to small flare-ups.
More Victims Expected
Authorities said search and rescue operations have now ended, but more bodies may still be found.
Officials are working to identify 89 bodies, with roughly 200 people initially unaccounted for.
Katy Lo, 70, a longtime resident, described returning home to find her building engulfed in flames.
“I still can’t believe it. It feels like a bad dream,” she said as she sought government support.
Among the dead were two Indonesian migrant workers, while 11 others remain missing, according to Indonesian officials.
City in Mourning
Hong Kong lowered flags to half-staff, and Chief Executive John Lee led a three-minute silence with officials dressed in black.
The tragedy marks the city’s worst fire since:
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1996, when a Kowloon commercial building fire killed 41 people
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1948, when a warehouse fire killed 176, according to the South China Morning Post