The massive fire that broke out in an apartment complex in Hong Kong on November 26 has still not been completely controlled. Rescue teams continued to struggle for the second day on Thursday (28 November 2025) to control the fire in this multi-storey residential complex. The death toll in the accident has increased to 83, while more than 280 people are missing. Officials described it as the city’s biggest tragedy in the last 70 years.

Fire continued to burn on the upper floors of buildings

According to the report of news agency PTI, Adhikar said that about 76 people have been injured, out of which the condition of 43 is critical. A fireman is also among the dead. Many people are still trapped in buildings. The massive fire that broke out in four of the seven blocks has been brought under control, while the fire continued to burn on the upper floors of the remaining 31-storey buildings in the evening. Large scale rescue work is still going on and trapped people are being evacuated from the buildings.

Relief package for people affected by fire

The exact cause of the fire is not yet known. The government has ordered to start a criminal investigation in this matter. The official said that seven buildings, each of which has 32 storeys, have been completely gutted. The Hong Kong government has announced relief of 300 million Hong Kong dollars (about 43 million US dollars) for the affected people. Hundreds of displaced residents have been shifted to temporary shelters.

Homes of 4,600 people were destroyed

The Wang Fuk Court complex, built in 1983 in Tai Po district, consists of eight high-rise buildings containing 1,984 flats. According to the 2021 census, about 4,600 people live in these buildings. According to China’s official news agency Xinhua, Hong Kong Police said on November 27 that three people have been arrested in connection with the fire. The three persons arrested by the police are officials of the construction company who were responsible for installing these materials during the renovation of the buildings.

How did the fire spread suddenly?

Police say that the fire could have spread so quickly due to the flammable scaffolding and foam material used during the maintenance work. According to a report by The Guardian, Hong Kong Police Superintendent Eileen Chung said, “We have reason to believe that there was gross negligence on the part of the company responsible, which led to this accident and the uncontrolled spread of the fire, resulting in a large number of casualties.”

More than 50 people died in a massive fire that broke out in a multi-storey residential complex in Hong Kong, while 279 people are still missing. As the fire raged, the residents started abandoning it and running away. People said that they have become homeless and now they do not know what to do next.

Eyewitnesses told a horrifying story

Police investigation revealed that the protective nets, waterproof canvas and plastic sheets installed on the buildings may not have met the required fire proof standards, due to which the fire broke out. Local resident Shirley Chan said the scene was unbearably sad. She said, “Imagine a house burning down to ashes. Anyone would be heartbroken. I can understand that. It is really heartbreaking. I can’t even put it into words.”

Many people did not even know that their house was on fire.

According to the report of news agency AFP, a 65-year-old elderly man said, “I have been living here for more than 40 years. Our neighborhood is full of elderly people, many of whom use wheelchairs. The fire left all those families homeless. The windows of many houses were closed, so they did not realize that their house was on fire. Neighbors called them and asked them to leave the house. I am completely devastated.”

People saved their lives by hiding in the bathroom

Another local resident, Tong Pingmun (74 years old), said that he smelled smoke inside the house, but he did not evacuate the house. After some time, a fireman reached his house and warned that the neighboring building was on fire. Despite this he did not leave his home. Suddenly the situation worsened. As the smoke increased, Tong Pingmun and his wife hid in the bathroom.

He closed the space below the bathroom door with a wet towel. He switched on the ventilation fan and called for help, after which rescue teams reached him. According to the New York Times report, he said, “We were very lucky. There was dense darkness all around. If we had to go out alone, we would not have been able to survive.”

A rescue team employee ran towards room number 27 on the floor. According to a Reuters report, he said, “I wanted to remain at the site until the rescue operation was over. My heart was pounding. I think such incidents can only happen due to construction problems.”

On Wednesday (26 November 2025), a sudden fire broke out in several buildings of Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po district of Hong Kong. The flames spread so fast that it engulfed 7 buildings. Despite several hours of efforts he could not be brought under control. According to the fire department, the deaths of 44 people have been confirmed so far. A large number of people are still missing and many injured are undergoing treatment in hospitals. About 900 people have been kept in temporary relief centers so that they can get a safe place.

Many videos related to the incident are becoming increasingly viral on social media platforms, in which the flames are seen growing dangerously. In a video, dozens of fire brigade vehicles are seen working continuously to extinguish the fire. Apart from this, in another video the fire is seen spreading rapidly from one building to another.

This fire in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district killed at least 13 people (including a fire man). It’s raging out of control through 7 of 8 towers of this public housing development that’s home to more than 4,000 people#HongKong pic.twitter.com/vZlvljZrclM

— Ivan Watson (@IvanCNN) November 26, 2025

The Tai Po fire in Hong Kong is so scary I hope the number of casualties is minimized..#hk #hongkong #fire #disaster #wangfukcourt #HongKongFire pic.twitter.com/aKOIjpTqED

— Sumit (@A_Sumishiv1423) November 26, 2025

Horrifying visuals from hong kong several buildings burnt more than dozen people burnt alive. Rescue teams are trying very hard. Wishing for everyone’s safety.#hongkong #hongkongfire #FireStorm #HongKongers pic.twitter.com/njZxB4zswF

— ɳ เ ر ɦ α (@itsnisha03) November 26, 2025

How did the fire break out?

According to BBC report, Wang Fuk Court has eight tower blocks, each of which is 31 storeys high, containing 1,984 apartments. Recently, repair work was going on on these towers and bamboo scaffolding was installed on the entire external structure. Initial investigation found that the fire spread rapidly from one building to another. In this sequence, 7 out of 8 buildings got caught in the fire. The bamboo was dry and due to this the fire spread very rapidly. According to firefighters, the temperature was so high that the burnt material was flying up and falling far and wide and due to this the fire kept spreading further.

fire incident

The fire in the Hong Kong building has been classified as Level 5, the second highest level on the scale of Category 1 to 5 in terms of severity. Earlier in the year 2008, there was a massive fire of Grade 5 category in Hong Kong, in which only 4 people lost their lives. In the year 1962 also, 44 ​​people had died due to a fire.

Also read: Massive fire in 7 multi-storey buildings in Hong Kong – 44 dead, 300 missing, flames visible several kilometers away