A massive fire tore through the Wang Fuk Court high-rise housing complex in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district on Wednesday, becoming one of the region’s deadliest blazes in decades. Authorities say at least 44 people have died and 279 remain missing. Among the dead is a firefighter who was battling the blaze.
Police have arrested three men on suspicion of manslaughter in connection with the fire. Wang Fuk Court is a cluster of eight public housing towers that housed about 4,600 people according to the 2021 census.
The city’s dense urban environment can make large fires difficult to control and prone to spreading between buildings. The blaze forced the closure of several adjacent roads and caused roughly 30 bus routes to be diverted. Fire also spread from the housing complex to the nearby Wong Shiu Chi Secondary School, about 500 yards away.
About 1,000 surviving residents have been moved to community shelters. Hong Kong’s chief executive, John Lee, said police and fire services have set up a team to investigate the cause of the fire. Chinese leader Xi Jinping sent condolences to victims’ families.
Built in 1983, the towers were due for renovation and were encased in bamboo scaffolding—a traditional material used in Hong Kong—when the fire broke out. Last year the Hong Kong government began phasing out bamboo scaffolding in favor of steel, citing steel’s lower fire risk.