by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent
BEIJING/HONG KONG (Worthy News) – At least 44 people have died in Hong Kong after a massive fire engulfed several residential apartment blocks at the Wang Fuk Court complex in Tai Po on Wednesday afternoon, with authorities confirming that three men have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. Dozens more are in critical condition, and another 279 people are missing, city leader John Lee has said.
By Thursday morning, the fires had still not been fully extinguished at the complex — made up of eight 32-storey towers with about 2,000 flats — which was undergoing renovation at the time. Roughly 4,800 people live in the development. Authorities said flames in four of the towers were under control.
TAI PO: A DENSE URBAN DISTRICT
Tai Po, in Hong Kong’s eastern New Territories, is one of the city’s most densely populated districts. It contains vast high-rise housing estates, including Wang Fuk Court, as well as older villages and industrial zones. With mountains, forests, and coastal areas nearby, Tai Po blends dense urban living with rugged terrain — a combination that can complicate emergency access during major disasters.
Firefighters and rescue teams began searching the lower floors of several buildings early Thursday. Twenty-six rescue teams were deployed to the site.
Police said the arrested men — aged 52 to 68 — were detained Thursday morning on suspicion of manslaughter. Hong Kong media reported they include two construction-company directors and an engineering consultant linked to renovation work, though police have not released specific charges.
Officials said the fire spread rapidly, partly because the towers were wrapped in bamboo scaffolding — a traditional construction method being phased out for safety reasons. Authorities are also examining exterior building materials that may have contributed to the spread of the blaze.
More than 900 residents have been evacuated to temporary shelters as rescue and recovery efforts continue.
China’s leader, Xi Jinping, sent condolences to the victims, China Central Television reported late Wednesday.
More than 128 fire engines and nearly 800 firefighters were dispatched. At least one firefighter was among the dead.
The Wang Fuk Court towers are among the tallest structures in Tai Po — a district where tens of thousands live in tightly packed high-rise blocks, reflecting Hong Kong’s status as one of the most densely populated territories in the world.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
British paratroopers and military medics were deployed to the world’s most remote inhabited island after a suspected hantavirus case linked to a deadly cruise ship outbreak triggered international health concerns.
The United States endured its worst spring drought on record last month, with more than 60% of the lower 48 states experiencing moderate drought or worse conditions, according to federal monitoring agencies. The rapidly intensifying crisis is raising concerns over food prices, agricultural production, and an already severe wildfire season stretching across multiple regions of the country.
U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Iran rejected each other’s latest peace proposals aimed at ending the 10-week war, sending the U.S. dollar higher against major currencies as investors sought safety amid renewed Middle East uncertainty.
A tense calm settled over Moscow Sunday after Russia’s annual Victory Day Parade was overshadowed by fears of Ukrainian drone and “terror attacks,” with the Kremlin reportedly increasingly concerned about the security of President Vladimir Putin following a rare strike on the Russian capital.
Senior Trump administration official Ambassador Monica Crowley declared this week that the American public will soon receive concrete evidence supporting President Donald Trump’s claim that he won the 2020 presidential election in a landslide — a statement that signals the administration is moving from assertion to action on one of the most contested issues in recent American political history.
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar urged the nation’s president to resign immediately in an unprecedented inaugural speech in parliament Saturday, while an estimated 200,000 supporters watched proceedings outside on giant screens in central Budapest.
A series of unusually large market bets on falling oil prices — totaling an estimated $7 billion — is drawing growing scrutiny after the trades repeatedly occurred minutes before major Iran-related policy announcements by President Donald Trump, according to a Reuters analysis and market experts.