Hong Kong's deadliest urban fire in nearly three decades has killed at least 36 people and left 279 others missing, prompting a city-wide emergency mobilization as flames raced across high-rise residential towers wrapped in bamboo scaffolding and renovation mesh. The blaze, which erupted Wednesday afternoon in the Tai Po district, engulfed multiple blocks of the Wang Fuk Court housing estate, one of the territory's largest residential complexes.
Authorities elevated the incident to a level-5 emergency-the city's highest classification-and deployed more than 800 firefighters and paramedics using over 140 emergency vehicles, according to reporting from the South China Morning Post. The fire continued burning more than 10 hours after it began, with smoke pouring from 32-storey towers and burning debris falling from scaffolded façades.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee confirmed the death toll and said 29 people were hospitalized. "The priority is to extinguish the fire and rescue the residents who are trapped. The second is to support the injured. The third is to support and recover. Then, we'll launch a thorough investigation," Lee told reporters. Among the dead was a 37-year-old firefighter who was found unconscious at the scene and later died in hospital.
The blaze spread rapidly as flames climbed the bamboo scaffolding and green construction netting surrounding seven of the estate's eight residential blocks. The government began phasing out bamboo scaffolding in March due to safety concerns, but it remains widely used across renovation projects in one of the world's densest urban environments. Photos showed the material igniting floor by floor as residents called emergency services from inside their flats.
Police established a hotline for families seeking information, while nearly 900 displaced residents sought refuge in temporary shelters overnight. Authorities closed a key section of Tai Po Road-one of Hong Kong's two main highways-and the Education Bureau announced at least six school closures due to the fire and severe traffic disruptions.
Residents described panic as the fire took hold. A 71-year-old resident surnamed Wong said his wife was trapped inside their unit. Another resident, Harry Cheung, told reporters, "I immediately went back to pack up my things," adding, "I don't even know how I feel right now. I'm just thinking about where I'm going to sleep tonight because I probably won't be able to go back home."
From Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged an "all-out effort" to contain the blaze and prevent further casualties, state broadcaster CCTV reported. He also sent condolences and assured Hong Kong of mainland support as emergency teams struggled to reach upper floors where heat remained intense long into the night.
The Wang Fuk Court complex, occupied since 1983 and part of a subsidized home-ownership scheme, comprises eight towers with nearly 2,000 units. Online posts indicate the estate has been undergoing a HK$330 million renovation project for a year, with each household contributing HK$160,000 to HK$180,000. The scale of the construction work-and the extensive bamboo framework surrounding the towers-has now become a central focus of the government's investigation.
The fire is Hong Kong's deadliest since 1996, when 41 people died in a commercial building blaze in Kowloon that later prompted sweeping reforms to the city's fire-safety codes. Officials have already announced that safety standards for scaffolding and renovation netting will be scrutinized as part of the formal inquiry.
