A massive fire ripped through the Wang Fuk Court public-housing complex in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district on Wednesday, leaving at least 44 people dead and 279 unaccounted for, authorities said. Among the fatalities was a firefighter who had been fighting the blaze.
Police have arrested three men on suspicion of manslaughter as part of the investigation. Wang Fuk Court consists of eight towers that, according to the 2021 census, sheltered about 4,600 residents.
The city’s tightly packed urban environment makes large fires difficult to extinguish and increases the risk of flames spreading to neighboring buildings. The blaze prompted the closure of nearby roads and forced roughly 30 bus routes to be diverted. Fire also reached the Wong Shiu Chi Secondary School about 500 yards from the complex.
Some 1,000 residents who survived were relocated to community shelters. Hong Kong’s chief executive, John Lee, said police and fire departments have established a joint team to determine the cause of the blaze. Chinese leader Xi Jinping offered condolences to the victims’ families.
Built in 1983 and scheduled for renovation, the towers were wrapped in traditional bamboo scaffolding when the fire began. Hong Kong has started replacing bamboo scaffolding with steel in recent years, citing steel’s lower fire risk.