Inside Hong Kong’s deadly tower block blaze: ‘It was horrifying’

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HONG KONG - It was around 2.51pm on a sunny afternoon when flames were first spotted climbing up the bamboo scaffolding and green netting that encased the 31-story Wang Cheong House in north-eastern Hong Kong on Nov 26. 

Within hours,

the fire leapt from block to block

in the waterfront residential complex in the district of Tai Po, fanned by continental winds bringing cool, dry air.

Soon, seven of the eight towers – which altogether contained about 2,000 apartments housing some 5,000 people – were ablaze as black smoke darkened the skies. 

Residents scrambled to exit the buildings known as Wang Fuk Court, startled at how quickly the fire was spreading. With no alarms sounding, some received calls from relatives elsewhere who urged them to quickly evacuate. Others rushed back to the site after hearing the news from friends. Many elderly people in wheelchairs struggled to escape.

Resident Peter Leung, 71, made it back to the area just before 4pm to find the complex in flames, although his 28th floor apartment was in the one building that did not catch alight. 

“It was horrifying – I’ve lived so long and I’ve never been so scared in my life,” said Mr Leung, who is now retired. “I’m heartbroken. The image is impossible to erase from my mind.” 

As hundreds of firefighters began battling to contain the inferno, residents trapped in the buildings made desperate calls to emergency services. Others begged for their pets to be saved. Yet, the intense heat meant rescue workers were unable to enter some of the buildings as flames continued to travel upward. 

At 6.22pm, the government raised the fire alarm to the maximum No. 5 level for the first time in 17 years. The fires burned relentlessly through the night, consuming each floor in turn.

As of the morning of Nov 27, firefighters had managed to extinguish the flames in four of the seven buildings that caught fire. They could not safely access the higher floors in the ones still burning, raising the prospect of further casualties.

The spread of the inferno was unprecedented in a city with by far the most high-rise buildings in the world. The death toll currently stands at 44, including one firefighter, with another 45 hospitalised in a serious condition.

Some 279 are still missing, raising fears the death toll could end up being much higher, making it one of Hong Kong’s deadliest disasters. 

As police cordoned off the area, residents and family members watched the smouldering buildings and searched for news on their loved ones. Rescuers were still managing to find survivors, leading to some hope that others could be found alive.

Residents trapped

Ms Fong, 40, said it was 8pm on Nov 26 when she last got in touch with her 70-year-old mother, who was hiding with her 50-year old neighbour in a bathroom on the 27th floor.

“Her situation was already getting worse – she told me she was getting dizzy and feeling confused,” Ms Fong said. Her mother did not bring her phone when she left the apartment. By midnight, the neighbour’s phone had run out of battery and they lost all contact.

“I don’t know how my mom is doing now,” she said, “They haven’t reached our floor yet.”

The cause of the fire has yet to be identified, but officials are questioning safety standards used in a project to renovate the buildings. Police arrested two directors and an engineering consultant of a construction company.

“Police have reason to believe that the company’s responsible persons were grossly negligent, which led to the incident and caused the fire to spread rapidly, resulting in serious casualties,” Senior Superintendent Eileen Chung said in a press conference. 

Hong Kong requires the use of fire retardant protective nets and other materials used in scaffolds to prevent the spread of any fire. 

“Protective netting, fire-resistant cloth and plastic sheeting on the exterior of the building burned far more intensely and spread much faster than compliant materials normally would,” Secretary for Security Chris Tang said. He added that this was “unusual”.

The deadly fire is one of biggest challenges chief executive John Lee has faced since he took office in 2022. Chinese President Xi Jinping urged all-out efforts to minimise the fallout from the disaster, which comes just days before legislative elections heavily promoted by officials. 

Mr Lee said the government had stopped all publicity efforts for the polls to focus on the fire, but did not give a direct response when asked whether the election would be postponed. The vote is only the second to be held since the legislature was overhauled in the wake of 2019 protests and Beijing’s imposed a national security law that effectively banned anyone who is not deemed a “patriot”.

Bamboo scaffolding

The role of bamboo scaffolding in the fire is also likely to come under scrutiny. While the government announced in March that half of all new public building works would have to use metal scaffolding, a senior official told lawmakers in July it had no plans to ban the use of bamboo.

Hong Kong has seen several notable high-rise fires in recent years, although deaths are rare. 

Scaffolding surrounding a commercial building in the city’s Central financial district went up in flames in October, causing four to be hospitalised. In 2023, a 42-story hotel being constructed in Hong Kong’s tourism district of Tsim Sha Tsui caught fire before being brought under control.

Before the Nov 26 blaze, the deadliest residential building fire in recent decades was a 1996 blaze at Garley Building in Jordan, which killed 41 people, and led to a major review of fire safety standards.

Wang Fuk Court was built in 1983 as subsidised housing before being sold at below-market prices to families under a government scheme. The renovation works were being done by Prestige Construction & Engineering Co, a registered contractor hired by the incorporated owners of the complex, according to a government statement. 

Ms Chen, 72, was home alone when she heard a commotion outside her third-floor apartment in Wang Fuk Court on the afternoon of Nov 26. At around 3pm, she received a call from her daughter, who was on holiday with her husband and two children in South Korea. 

“I immediately rushed out, I didn’t bring anything but my keys and phone,” said Ms Chen, who asked to give only her surname, adding that she never heard a fire alarm. She said she often felt scared when debris from the renovation work fell down, making loud noises.

“At least my family is safe,” she added. “But all our belongings might be gone.” BLOOMBERG