The devastating fire that swept through the sprawling Wang Fuk Court residential estate in Tai Po, Hong Kong, was declared largely extinguished at 10:18 a.m. Friday, concluding an intense 43-hour battle waged by the Fire Services Department. The tragic incident resulted in a confirmed 94 fatalities, including one firefighter, with 76 injured persons requiring medical attention, among them 11 responding firefighters. As rescue efforts entered their third day, overnight operations yielded no further survivors, and authorities continue the grim task of accounting for missing residents.
Grim Statistics and Ongoing Search Efforts
The massive blaze, which ignited shortly before 3 p.m. on Wednesday, quickly engulfed seven of the eight residential towers at Wang Fuk Court. The estate, home to approximately 4,000 residents across 2,000 units according to the 2021 census, became the site of one of the city’s deadliest recent structure fires.
Hospital Authority figures released early Friday detailed the severe medical toll: 12 patients remained in critical condition, 28 were listed as serious, 16 were stable, and 22 had been discharged. The ongoing operation saw emergency personnel removing bodies from the premises shortly after 9 a.m., while one firefighter required immediate medical transport to Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital after becoming unwell on site.
Deputy Director of Fire Services Derek Armstrong Chan confirmed in an early morning briefing that search teams were rigorously executing door-to-door sweeps. To ensure no overlooked casualties, responders were mandated to force entry into every flat across the seven damaged blocks. Efforts were temporarily complicated by a brief, fresh flare-up around 6 a.m. in an upper-level unit of Wang Tao House, characterized by intense orange flames and thick smoke. Fire crews swiftly deployed an aerial ladder to address the hotspot, extinguishing it by approximately 7:30 a.m.
Focus Shifts to Investigation and Safety Violations
Firefighters are now engaged in extensive damping-down operations to mitigate the risk of reignition while specialist teams conduct structural risk assessments, examine fire safety installations, and gather evidence.
The focus is rapidly shifting toward the cause and contributing factors of the rapid fire spread. Police Senior Superintendent Eileen Chung stated that preliminary findings suggest fire safety hazards may have been exacerbated by the extensive renovation works underway. Specifically, investigators are scrutinizing the protective materials—including netting, mesh, canvas, and plastic sheeting—that enveloped the buildings, suspecting they may not have met mandatory fire safety standards, potentially contributing to the rapid vertical and horizontal spread of the flames.
In response to the disaster, police took swift action, arresting three men, aged 52 to 68, affiliated with the construction company overseeing the renovation. The suspects—two directors and an engineering consultant—face charges of manslaughter. A joint inquiry team comprising the police and the Fire Services Department has been established to thoroughly investigate the incident. Separately, the city’s anti-corruption watchdog has initiated a parallel investigation into potential malfeasance.
The incident underscores critical concerns regarding construction site fire safety compliance and the management of large-scale residential renewal projects in densely populated urban centers. As the community grieves and the recovery continues, these investigations will be instrumental in determining accountability and informing urgent policy changes to prevent similar catastrophes.