By Senior Editor, China Africa News
Hong Kong-A devastating fire swept through Wang Fuk Court a high-rise residential complex in Tai Po, Hong Kong on 26 November 2025, leaving behind a scene of heartbreak, confusion and mounting outrage. As grief and anger deepen across the city, the tragedy is prompting serious questions over building practices, safety oversight and accountability.
It began mid-afternoon when flames ignited around bamboo scaffolding and protective netting enveloping the blocks for renovation work. Within minutes, fire roared up the exterior and spread relentlessly from one tower to another, eventually engulfing seven of the estate’s eight high-rises. Thick black smoke, falling debris and howling winds turned the complex into a roaring inferno and terrified residents scrambling for their lives.
By now, authorities say at least 128 people have died, including a firefighter, and hundreds remain unaccounted for. More than 70 people are injured; dozens are in critical condition, some rescued just hours before units collapsed or became inaccessible. Among the dead are domestic workers, elderly tenants, and at least one 37-year-old firefighter who lost his life in the rescue efforts.
For many survivors, the shock is immense. One elderly resident, Mr. Yuen, who had lived in the block for decades, told reporters: “The windows were closed because of the maintenance some people didn’t know there was a fire until neighbours called them.” He added, voice shaking: “I’m devastated.” Another distraught woman carried around a daughter’s graduation photo, desperately asking if anyone had seen her painful search for loved ones among the rubble and shelters.
Authorities were quick to respond: within hours, they arrested three individuals associated with the renovation two company directors and an engineering consultant on suspicion of manslaughter.
Police cited “gross negligence” and faulted the use of flammable materials such as plastic foam panels and netting that failed to meet fire-safety standards. The government has also promised immediate inspections of all housing complexes undergoing renovations and announced a 300-million Hong Kong dollar relief fund for victims and displaced residents.
Public reaction has erupted in grief, anger and demands for accountability. Many say this is not merely a tragic accident, but the predictable outcome of systemic failures lax oversight, cost-cutting on safety, and acceptance of dangerous construction norms like bamboo scaffolding. For some, the fire is a symbol of inequality, of negligence, of lives treated as expendable. As one local journalist wrote, “in air thick with acrid smoke, people are reeling and angry.”
Across Hong Kong, families of the missing drift between shelters, hospitals and morgues. Communities are scrambling to support survivors volunteers deliver food, clothing and psychological aid. Meanwhile, officials mobilize, inspect, promise reforms. But for many, that may come too late.
The charred towers, the lost lives, the unanswered screams echo a warning that for millions living in dense, older housing, safety has been a fragile, often ignored afterthought.As night falls over Tai Po, flames are gone, but the scars on families, on trust, on a city’s conscience remain.
