The extent of the devastation from Hong Kong’s deadliest residential fire in recent memory became clearer on Friday as officials confirmed a soaring death toll after firefighters tackled the inferno 42 hours after it first erupted. At least 128 have been confirmed dead and 79 injured, with authorities warning that the actual number could be significantly higher.
Why has the fire death toll in Hong Kong increased so dramatically?
A woman reacts outside the Kwong Fuk Community Hall, where relatives identify family members from photographs, after a fire broke out at the Wang Fuk Court residential complex in Tai Po, Hong Kong, China, Nov. 28, 2025. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu(REUTERS)
Hong Kong’s Security Minister Chris Tang said the situation remained deeply unstable, with rescue teams still wading through burnt floors and unstable structures across several tower blocks in the Tai Po district.
He warned that the final numbers could be “significantly higher” and revealed that around 200 residents remain unaccounted for. This number includes bodies that have not yet been identified, underscoring the severity of the destruction.
How did the high-rise fire in Hong Kong start?
A fire at a high-rise building in Hong Kong appears to have started in a safety net on the building’s lower floors before quickly spreading, government officials said.
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They noted that flammable foam boards and extensive bamboo scaffolding used in the renovation work played a significant role in accelerating the spread of the fire through the tower complex.
How did the fire spread across several Hong Kong tower blocks?
Police investigators are still investigating the cause of the initial fire, but initial evidence points to unsafe conditions created by ongoing renovation work at Wang Fuk Court, a densely built public housing estate with more than 4,000 residents, many of them elderly.
Authorities believe the fire started on the lower floors of Wang Cheong House, one of eight towers wrapped in bamboo scaffolding and wrapped in green protective netting. This combination, along with flammable building materials, created a deadly path for fire to jump from floor to floor and later from building to building.
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Police had previously confirmed the discovery of the construction company’s name on flammable polystyrene boards covering several windows. These materials, Tang explained, helped speed up the spread:
“It ignited the mesh (and) quickly spread to the polystyrene boards around the windows, resulting in a fire in other floors and buildings,” Tang said.
“After the Styrofoam caught fire, the high temperature caused the windows to break and the fire spread inside.”
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When the mesh and bamboo scaffolding caught fire, parts collapsed and fell, fueling new fires. Tang noted that even after firefighters extinguished certain areas, units continued to ignite again, complicating rescue efforts.
Were safety standards met in the Hong Kong high-rise?
Despite the rapid spread of the fire through the scaffolding and safety nets, Tang emphasized that the materials meet current safety requirements:
Tang said the networks meet security standards.
But investigators are now looking into whether those standards are sufficient for densely packed residential buildings undergoing extensive renovations.
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The heat inside the affected high-rises in Hong Kong was described as extreme, with temperatures exceeding 500 °C (930 °F) – a condition that made early rescue attempts dangerous for both residents and emergency personnel.
What will happen after the fire in Hong Kong?
A formal police investigation is expected to take three to four weeks, with forensic teams examining how a single-tower incident escalated into multiple simultaneous multi-storey fires – a rare and catastrophic occurrence in Hong Kong’s modern urban landscape.
Meanwhile, authorities continue to search charred structures for survivors and victims as anxious families await updates on missing loved ones.
