27.11.2025
Firefighters are still searching for hundreds of missing people after a massive fire tore through multiple high-rise residential buildings in Hong Kong.
At least 83 people are now known to have died in the blaze – the city’s deadliest in more than 70 years – at Wang Fuk Court’s complex, which is home to thousands.
Rescuers holding flashlights were going from apartment to apartment at the charred towers as thick smoke continued to pour out from some windows.
Hong Kong leader John Lee said contact had been lost with 279 people early Thursday. Authorities did not provide updates on the missing people or how many were still inside the ravaged buildings Thursday during a press conference.
The tower blocks had been undergoing extensive renovations – and while the exact cause for the fire is unclear, police bamboo stick scaffolding on the outside of the buildings may have facilitated its spread.
Three construction firm executives have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and gross negligence, and Hong Kong’s chief executive John Lee has vowed a comprehensive investigation. Agency reports