The death toll from Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades rose to 128 on Friday, with dozens more still unaccounted for, as authorities revealed that fire alarms in the affected residential towers had been malfunctioning.
Families scoured hospitals and victim identification centers, desperate for news of loved ones. Around 200 people remain missing, while 89 bodies have yet to be formally identified.
The inferno erupted on Wednesday afternoon at the Wang Fuk Court housing estate in Tai Po district, rapidly engulfing seven of the eight high-rises in the densely packed complex. Flames tore through the towers for more than 40 hours before fire services declared the blaze “largely extinguished” on Friday morning, completing a painstaking search of over 1,800 apartments for survivors.
Investigators are examining the cause of the fire, focusing on the bamboo scaffolding and protective netting installed for a major renovation. The Hong Kong government said preliminary findings suggest the fire began in the netting on the lower floors of one tower, with foam boards and bamboo scaffolding accelerating its spread.
Fire services chief Andy Yeung disclosed that alarm systems in all eight blocks had been “malfunctioning.” “We will take enforcement actions against the contractors responsible,” he said at a press briefing. Residents reported going door-to-door to warn neighbors as the fire raced through the buildings.
On Friday, the aftermath was stark. Charred bodies were removed from the towers in black bags, with AFP reporters witnessing multiple recoveries within minutes. At nearby mortuaries, vehicles unloaded corpses as anxious families arrived to identify missing relatives.
Among them, a woman surnamed Wong searched desperately for her sister-in-law and the twin of her sister-in-law, still without news.
Authorities continue to investigate the exact cause of the blaze as Hong Kong grapples with one of the deadliest residential fires in its recent history.
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