HONG KONG — The death toll from a devastating fire that ripped through a high-rise apartment complex in Hong Kong has climbed to 128, with authorities announcing the arrest of eight more individuals linked to the buildings' ongoing renovation work. The blaze, which began on Wednesday in the Tai Po district suburb near the border with mainland China, engulfed seven of the eight 31-story towers at Wang Fuk Court, a complex built in the 1980s that housed nearly 4,800 residents across almost 2,000 apartments. Firefighters continued their grim search on Friday, discovering dozens more bodies in an apartment-by-apartment sweep, as smoke still drifted from the charred remains of the structures.
Andy Yeung, director of the Hong Kong Fire Services, reported that first responders tested fire alarms in the complex, which primarily sheltered older residents, and found that some did not sound. He did not specify the number of faulty alarms or whether additional ones were affected. The fire spread rapidly from one building to the next, fueled by bamboo scaffolding covered in netting and highly flammable foam panels installed during the renovation, according to preliminary investigations.
Authorities arrested seven men and one woman, aged 40 to 63, on Friday, including scaffolding subcontractors, directors of an engineering consultant company, and project managers overseeing the work, the Independent Commission Against Corruption stated. These arrests follow the detention of three men on Thursday — directors and an engineering consultant from a construction company — on suspicion of manslaughter. Police suspect company leaders of gross negligence, though they have not named the firm publicly. Documents on the homeowners association's website indicate that Prestige Construction & Engineering Company was responsible for the renovations, and police have seized boxes of documents from the company's offices, where phones went unanswered on Thursday.
In addition to the arrests, the anti-corruption agency searched the suspects' offices, confiscating relevant documents and bank records. Officials suspect that materials on the exterior walls of the high-rises failed to meet fire resistance standards, contributing to the blaze's unusually swift spread. Police discovered highly flammable plastic foam panels attached to windows on each floor of the one unaffected tower, believed to have been installed by the construction company, though their purpose remains unclear.
Secretary for Security Chris Tang explained that the fire originated on a lower-level scaffolding net in one of the buildings before igniting the foam panels. "The blaze ignited the foam panels, causing the glass to shatter and leading to a swift intensification of the fire and its spread into the interior spaces," Tang said. This rapid escalation prevented firefighters from reaching apartments where emergency calls had been made during the height of the inferno.
Derek Armstrong Chan, a deputy director of the Hong Kong Fire Services, told reporters that crews on Friday focused on those unreachable units. It took approximately 24 hours to bring the flames under control, with the fire not fully extinguished until Friday morning. Even two days after the outbreak, occasional flare-ups sent smoke billowing from the skeletal remains of the buildings.
More than 2,300 firefighters and medical personnel participated in the response, with 79 people injured, including 12 firefighters. One firefighter was killed, Yeung confirmed earlier. Around 200 people remain unaccounted for, Tang said, including 89 unidentified bodies. Authorities noted that while the search for trapped survivors has concluded, additional remains could still be recovered.
Katy Lo, a 70-year-old resident of Wang Fuk Court, was away from home when the fire started on Wednesday. She returned about an hour later to find the blaze had reached her building. "That’s my home.… I still can’t really believe what happened," Lo said on Friday while registering for government assistance for affected households. "This all still feels like a bad dream."
The complex's renovation, aimed at modernizing the aging structures, appears to have played a central role in the tragedy. Bamboo scaffolding, a common feature in Hong Kong construction, was wrapped in netting and foam that caught fire easily, allowing the flames to leap between towers. Tang highlighted the role of these materials in the fire's propagation, prompting authorities to announce immediate inspections of other housing complexes undergoing major renovations to verify compliance with safety standards for scaffolding and building materials.
This incident marks one of the deadliest fires in Hong Kong's history. The last comparable tragedy was a 1996 blaze in a Kowloon commercial building that claimed 41 lives, according to the South China Morning Post. An even more devastating warehouse fire in 1948 killed 176 people. The Wang Fuk Court fire's scale underscores ongoing concerns about fire safety in densely populated urban areas, particularly in older buildings retrofitted with modern materials that may not align with current regulations.
Investigators continue to probe the renovations' oversight, with police focusing on potential corruption and negligence. The arrests by the Independent Commission Against Corruption suggest deeper issues in the project's management, including possible violations in material sourcing and installation. While Prestige Construction & Engineering has not commented, the seizure of financial records points to a broadening inquiry into procurement practices.
Residents like Lo, now displaced, are relying on government aid to rebuild their lives. The complex, once a bustling community for elderly and families, stands as a haunting reminder of the vulnerabilities in Hong Kong's housing stock. Officials have pledged swift action to prevent similar disasters, but questions linger about how such flammable materials were approved for use in a high-density residential area.
As recovery efforts shift from rescue to investigation, the focus turns to supporting survivors and holding those responsible accountable. Tang emphasized the government's commitment to transparency, stating that all findings from the probe will be made public. For the people of Tai Po, the road to normalcy will be long, marked by grief and the imperative for stricter safety measures in future developments.
The fire's impact extends beyond the immediate loss of life, raising alarms about renovation practices across Hong Kong. With thousands of similar high-rises in the city, the inspections announced could lead to widespread changes in building codes and enforcement. Experts, though not quoted in official statements, have long warned of the risks posed by combustible cladding and scaffolding in windy, urban environments like Hong Kong.
In the coming weeks, autopsies and identifications will provide closure for families, while legal proceedings against the arrested individuals unfold. The tragedy at Wang Fuk Court serves as a stark call to action, blending sorrow with the urgent need for reform in one of the world's most vertical cities.