Hong Kong firefighters are trying Thursday to put out a violent fire that engulfed several residential skyscrapers under renovation, leaving at least 44 dead and hundreds missing according to authorities in the Chinese region.
The blaze, the most serious to occur in this mecca of world finance in decades, broke out on Wednesday afternoon in a complex of eight buildings housing a total of some 2,000 apartments, in Tai Po, in the north of Hong Kong.
The event caused shock waves in this special status region of China, which has among the highest population densities and tallest residential buildings in the world.
At dawn on Thursday, apartments were still burning according to AFP journalists, even if the intensity of the fire decreased significantly in the early hours of the morning. Around 9:00 a.m. (01:00 GMT), black smoke continued to escape from the building complex dating from the 1980s, with towers of around thirty floors.
At least 44 people died in the fire, according to the firefighters’ latest report released Thursday morning. Among them, a 37-year-old firefighter burned on the face, with whom contact had been lost, according to fire chief Andy Yeung.
As of early Thursday, 279 people were still missing, according to Hong Kong leader John Lee. However, emergency services subsequently indicated that they had come into contact with several of the missing people.
Police announced they had arrested three men in connection with the fire, after the discovery of flammable materials left behind during maintenance work which led to the fire “spread quickly”. They are suspected of manslaughter.
The blaze quickly spread from one tower to another, fanned by the wind. Bamboo scaffolding, emblematic of Hong Kong, surrounded these buildings under renovation and probably caught fire first. Flames, embers and smoke escaped from the buildings during the night, bathed in an orange glow.
Mr. Yuen, 65, who has lived there for more than 40 years, explains that many of his neighbors were elderly and had limited mobility. “Some people did not know there was a fire and had to be notified by telephone by their neighbors”he tells AFP. “I’m devastated!” »
Emergency accommodation
More than 900 people were welcomed into temporary shelters, where volunteers provided moral support and blankets.
People arrived there all night to report the disappearance of their family members, unable to reach them. Some sat dazed, staring with reddened eyes at the screens of their cell phones, hoping for news from their loved ones.
A fire engulfs a building complex in Tai Po district on November 26, 2025 in Hong Kong.
Yan ZHAO/AFP
At the scene of the fire, in the Wang Fuk Court complex, the temperature “is very high and there are floors where we have not been able to reach people who have asked for help, but we will continue to try”assured Derek Armstrong Chan, deputy director of the fire service.
He said the fire probably spread from one building to another due to the wind and burning debris flying away. The authorities are continuing their investigation into the causes of the fire, he emphasizes.
Chinese President Xi Jinping offered his condolences to the victims’ relatives, and called for everything to be done “to extinguish the fire and minimize human and material losses”according to public channel CCTV.
“It’s heartbreaking. We wonder with concern if there are people stuck inside”sighs So, 57, who lives not far from the burning complex.
Fires have long been a scourge in Hong Kong, particularly in poor neighborhoods. But the strengthening of security measures in recent decades has made them rarer.
