HONG KONG — The death toll from a devastating fire at Hong Kong’s Wang Fuk Court apartment complex climbed to 146 on Sunday as investigators recovered more bodies from the burned buildings. Residents and well-wishers placed flowers and handwritten notes at a growing makeshift memorial, marking one of the deadliest disasters in the city’s history.
The Hong Kong Police Disaster Victim Identification Unit has been meticulously searching the complex’s eight buildings, finding bodies inside apartments and on rooftops, said officer in charge Cheng Ka-chun. So far, four of the seven blocks under investigation have been examined.
“The work is very difficult in the dark, low-light areas away from windows,” Cheng told reporters, wearing protective gear.
The latest searches uncovered 30 additional bodies, including 12 previously discovered by firefighters but not yet recovered, according to Tsang Shuk-yin, head of the police casualty unit.
At the site, mourners bowed, prayed, and left flowers. “This really serves as a wake-up call, especially with super high-rise buildings,” said Lian Shuzheng, who waited in a long line to place flowers at the memorial. People also donated supplies to those who lost everything in the blaze, which started Wednesday and was fully extinguished by Friday.
The Wang Fuk Court complex, located in the Tai Po suburb, consists of eight 31-story buildings built in the 1980s, housing nearly 2,000 apartments and more than 4,600 residents. At the time of the fire, all buildings were undergoing renovations, covered in bamboo scaffolding draped with nylon netting, and windows were blocked with polystyrene panels. Authorities are investigating possible fire code violations.
Hong Kong officials announced late Saturday the immediate suspension of work on 28 projects handled by the same contractor, Prestige Construction & Engineering Company, for safety audits. “The five-alarm fire at Wang Fuk Court exposed serious deficiencies of PC&E in site safety management, including extensive use of foam boards to block windows during repairs,” the government said. The company did not respond to calls for comment.
Three men linked to the construction project — company directors and an engineering consultant — were arrested the day after the fire on suspicion of manslaughter but later released on bail. They were subsequently rearrested by Hong Kong’s anti-corruption authorities, who also detained eight additional suspects, including scaffolding subcontractors and project managers.
Preliminary investigations indicate the fire began Wednesday afternoon on a lower-level scaffolding net. Foam panels caught fire and windows blew out, while winds helped flames spread from building to building, engulfing seven of the eight towers, according to Chris Tang, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Security. Some fire alarms in the complex, which housed many older residents, failed to sound, the Hong Kong Fire Services Department said.
The victims include seven Indonesian migrant workers, with several dozen still unaccounted for, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry said. One Filipina domestic worker was also killed and 12 remain missing, according to the Philippines Consulate General in Hong Kong. On Sunday, several hundred Filipinos gathered in central Hong Kong to pray and sing hymns in tribute.
Many residents displaced by the fire are in short-term emergency shelters or hotels while authorities work on long-term housing solutions.
In response to the disaster, China’s Ministry of Emergency Management announced nationwide inspections of high-rise buildings to identify fire hazards. Inspections will focus on bamboo scaffolding, non-flame-retardant safety nets, and firefighting equipment such as hydrants, sprinklers, and alarm systems.
The Wang Fuk Court fire is the deadliest in Hong Kong since a 1948 warehouse blaze killed 176 people. The city’s deadliest recorded fire remains the 1918 Race Course Fire, which claimed more than 600 lives.
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