HONG KONG police have arrested the directors and an engineering consultant of Prestige Construction on suspicion of manslaughter after a catastrophic blaze engulfed the Wang Fuk Court housing complex in Tai Po, killing at least 94 people and leaving scores more missing.
Reuters reported on Friday that authorities allege that unsafe materials used in ongoing renovation works allowed the fire to spread with devastating speed.
Deputy Director of Fire Services Derek Armstrong Chan said most of the victims were discovered in two high-rise towers within the eight-block estate, which had been shrouded in bamboo scaffolding and green mesh during maintenance works.
Rescuers confronted collapsing scaffolding, dense smoke and extreme heat as they attempted to reach residents feared trapped on upper floors. “We expect the fire to be fully put out tonight,” Chan said.
“We’ll continue to douse water to lower the temperatures.”
Chan confirmed that some residents were found alive in several buildings, though he did not elaborate.
The South China Morning Post reported that at least one survivor was located in a stairwell.
The blaze, which raged for more than 24 hours, has forced around 900 residents into eight temporary shelters. Outside one such centre, a grief-stricken mother, Ng, carried her daughter’s graduation photograph as she searched for her missing family members.
“She and her father are still not out yet,” the 52-year-old said through tears. “They didn’t have water to save our building.”
Police Superintendent Eileen Chung said investigators had reason to believe that those responsible for the renovation works were “grossly negligent, which led to this accident and caused the fire to spread uncontrollably, resulting in major casualties.”
Prestige Construction did not respond to calls seeking comment. Officers seized employee lists, bidding documents, 14 computers and three mobile phones during a raid on the company’s offices.
The confirmed death toll, at 94 as of 6.00 am on Friday marks Hong Kong’s worst fire since a 1948 warehouse inferno that killed 176 people.
Earlier on Thursday, the government reported that 279 people were listed as missing, a figure that has not been updated for 24 hours.
In a telegram to Hong Kong’s bishop, Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan, Pope Leo conveyed “spiritual solidarity to all those suffering from the effects of this calamity, especially the injured and the families who grieve”.
Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, John Lee, announced a HK$300 million fund to support affected residents, while major companies including Xiaomi, Xpeng and Geely, along with foundations linked to Jack Ma and Tencent, pledged donations.
On the second night after the blaze, dozens of evacuees laid out mattresses inside a shopping mall, choosing to leave space in official shelters for those in greater need.
Elderly residents, schoolchildren and families camped outside fast-food restaurants and convenience stores as volunteers distributed blankets, food and toiletries.
Authorities revealed that foam materials sealing windows were discovered on at least one unaffected block, installed during the year-long maintenance project.
Discussions are under way at the city’s development bureau over replacing bamboo scaffolding with metal structures to improve safety standards.
President Xi Jinping has called for an “all-out effort” to extinguish the fire and minimise casualties, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Both the Hong Kong government and China’s leadership have moved swiftly to demonstrate their concern, aware of the political sensitivity of a disaster unfolding in a city long marked by public frustration over housing affordability and governance.
Online platforms have been flooded with reports of the missing, including entries on a shared document listing residents room by room.
Some contain simple descriptions such as “Mother-in-law in her 70s, missing” or “one boy and one girl”. One stark entry read: “27th floor, room 1: He is dead.” Reuters could not independently verify the information.
Comparisons have already been drawn with London’s Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, which killed 72 people and was attributed to combustible exterior cladding and regulatory failures.
Hong Kong, one of the world’s most densely populated cities, relies heavily on vast high-rise estates such as Wang Fuk Court, home to more than 4,600 residents in 2,000 flats.
Completed in 1983, the estate forms part of a government-subsidised home ownership scheme considered crucial for middle-income families.
As the last embers are extinguished, questions are mounting over safety oversight, the use of materials in refurbishment projects and the broader vulnerabilities of the city’s ageing housing stock. Authorities face intense pressure to account for the scale of the tragedy — and to prevent another. - November 28, 2025
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