The death toll from a massive fire that broke out at a residential apartment complex in Hong Kong has risen to 55, as firefighters continued to battle the blaze, among the deadliest in the city’s modern history.
Hong Kong authorities said Thursday that 51 people had been found dead on the scene, bringing the death toll to 55, including four others who had been brought to the hospital.
Thick smoke continued to pour out of the Wang Fuk Court complex in Tai Po district, a northern suburb near the border with the mainland.
Firefighters have been fighting to control the flames since midafternoon Wednesday, when the fire started, and then spread across seven of the complex’s eight buildings. Fires in four buildings had been effectively put out, with the remaining three towers under control, authorities said Thursday afternoon. They said the operation could last until the evening.
One firefighter was among the people confirmed dead, officials said. More than 70 people were injured, according to the city’s Hospital Authority, many suffering from burns and inhalation injuries.
Firefighters work to extinguish a fire that broke out Wednesday at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong’s New Territories, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)
Resident Lawrence Lee was waiting for news about his wife, who was still trapped in their apartment.
“When the fire started, I told her on the phone to escape. But once she left the flat, the corridor and stairs were all filled with smoke, and it was all dark, so she had no choice but to go back to the flat,” he said, as he waited in one of the shelters overnight.
Winter and Sandy Chung, who lived in one of the towers, said they saw sparks fly around as they evacuated on Wednesday afternoon. Although they were safe, they were worried about their home. “I couldn’t sleep the entire night,” Winter Chung, 75, told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Three men, the directors and an engineering consultant of a construction company, were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. Police have not named the company they work for.
“We have reason to believe that those in charge of the construction company were grossly negligent,” said Eileen Chung, a senior superintendent of police.
Police also searched the office of Prestige Construction & Engineering Company on Thursday, an AP source confirmed was in charge of renovations in the tower complex. Police seized boxes of documents as evidence, according to local media. Phones for Prestige rang unanswered.
Authorities suspected that some exterior wall materials in the high-rise buildings did not meet fire-resistance standards, allowing the fire to spread unusually rapidly.
A fire can be seen at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong’s New Territories, on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)
Residents rest at the fire scene at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong’s New Territories, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)
Police also said they found Styrofoam — which is highly flammable — attached to the windows on each floor near the elevator lobby of the one unaffected tower.
It was believed to have been installed by the construction company, but the purpose was not clear. Secretary for Security Chris Tang said they would investigate the materials further.
The fire started on the exterior scaffolding of a 32-story tower, then spread to the bamboo scaffolding and construction netting on the inside of the building, and then to the other buildings, likely aided by windy conditions. Firefighters aimed water at the intense flames from high on ladder trucks, but conditions for fighting the fire and rescuing people remained challenging.
Smoke rises after a fire broke out at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong’s New Territories, Thursday, Nov. 27 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)
Workers remove a body from a fire which broke out Wednesday at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong’s New Territories, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)
A fire safety expert said the incident “is quite shocking,” as regulations in general require buildings to be spaced apart to keep fires from spreading from one building to the next.
“Typically, they don’t spread beyond the building of origin,” said Alex Webb, a fire safety engineer at CSIRO Infrastructure Technologies in Australia, saying the materials police cited could explain why the fires spread.
