Firefighters search at the site of the deadly fire at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong’s New Territories on November 29, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP
The death toll in the fire at seven high-rise residential buildings in Hong Kong has risen to 146 on Sunday (November 30, 2025), while the fate of 150 people is still unclear as the search operations continue on the fifth day.
Eight people, including a woman connected with the renovation work of the buildings that caught fire on Wednesday (November 26), were arrested by Hong Kong’s anti-corruption body for allegedly using inflammable and substandard materials. State-run Xinhua quoted local officials as saying that the death toll in the fire rose to 146, with a firefighter among the dead.
Investigations into the fire accident are underway with many unanswered questions, especially how seven high-rise buildings with 1,984 apartments, housing around 4,600 residents, caught fire.
The status of 150 people is unclear, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported. The survivors complained that fire alarms in the buildings did not work as a result, people did not receive any early warning. Following the incident, China has launched a nationwide inspection of fire hazards in high-rise residential and public buildings all over the country.
Also Read | China launches nationwide fire safety inspection following Hong Kong fire; nation begins mourning period
In a notice issued on Saturday (November 29), the Work Safety Committee of the State Council instructed local governments to immediately carry out checks and fix problems in occupied residential towers, office buildings, hospitals and shopping complexes.
The campaign aims to prevent accidents linked to renovation work, ageing facilities and blocked evacuation routes, state-run China Daily reported.
Chris Tang Ping-keung, Secretary for Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government, told the media on Friday (November 28) that the fire first broke out in the lower-level perimeter nets, igniting foam boards and spreading rapidly to other buildings.
This caused the glass to shatter, the fire to intensify sharply and spread indoors, resulting in a disaster with large-scale simultaneous ignition, he said.
High temperatures burned the bamboo scaffolding, and falling burning bamboo pieces set fire to other scaffolding nets.
As the flats were completely burnt, the survivors have been accommodated in 1,000 empty flats nearby.
Published – November 30, 2025 04:53 pm IST
