{"id":45326,"date":"2025-11-27T15:13:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T23:13:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=45326"},"modified":"2025-11-27T15:13:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T23:13:14","slug":"death-toll-from-huge-hong-kong-fire-rises-to-83-with-hundreds-still-missing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/11\/27\/death-toll-from-huge-hong-kong-fire-rises-to-83-with-hundreds-still-missing\/","title":{"rendered":"Death toll from huge Hong Kong fire rises to 83 with hundreds still missing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Dozens killed as fire engulfs Hong Kong high-rise residential blocks \u2022 FRANCE 24 English\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qaSQs1yETVA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Firefighters battled one of Hong Kong\u2019s deadliest blazes for a second day on Thursday, struggling to contain a fire that swept through high-rise towers and killed at least 83 people. Three construction workers were arrested as rescues continued and smoke billowed from the Wang Fuk Court complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Issued on:\u00a027\/11\/2025 &#8211; France24.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By:  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/author\/france-24\/\">FRANCE 24<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/aaa2312e-cb3b-11f0-8938-005056a90284\/w:1280\/p:16x9\/8f56f06cfd62cd529b9c7aadcd3fc1d85c2afe25.jpg\" alt=\"Firefighters attempt to extinguish a fire in a Tai Po housing complex on November 27, 2025\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Firefighters attempt to extinguish a fire in a Tai Po housing complex on November 27, 2025 in Hong Kong.&nbsp;\u00a9 Peter Parks, AFP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/firefighters\/\">Firefighters<\/a>&nbsp;battled one of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/hong-kong\/\">Hong&nbsp;Kong<\/a>&#8216;s deadliest modern blazes for a second day Thursday, fighting to control the fire that blackened several high-rise towers and killed at least 83 people. Three men from a construction company were arrested, and rescues were continuing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thick smoke still poured out of the Wang Fuk Court complex in Tai Po district, a northern suburb near the border with the mainland, Thursday morning. The fire that started mid afternoon Wednesday had spread across seven of the complex&#8217;s eight buildings, and four of the towers were under control by morning, the city&#8217;s fire services said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One firefighter was among the 83 people confirmed dead, officials said. Many people were injured, suffering from burn and inhalation injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/4a3118ba-cb1c-11f0-a19f-005056a90284\/w:1280\/p:16x9\/Hong-Kong-EN-00-00-28-15-Immagine005.jpg\" alt=\"Hong Kong \"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hong Kong&nbsp;\u00a9 France24<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Three men, the directors and an engineering consultant of a construction company, were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Advertising<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;We have reason to believe that those in charge of the construction company were grossly negligent,\u201d said Eileen Chung, a senior superintendent of police.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Authorities suspected some materials on the exterior walls of the high-rise buildings did not meet fire resistance standards, allowing the unusually fast spread of the fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/police\/\">Police<\/a>&nbsp;also said they found Styrofoam \u2013 which is highly flammable \u2013 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.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The fire started on the external scaffolding of a 32-story tower, then spread on the bamboo scaffolding and construction netting to the inside of the building and then to the other buildings, likely aided by windy conditions.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Firefighters aimed water at the intense flames from high on ladder trucks, but conditions for fighting the fire and rescuing people remained challenging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cDebris and scaffolding of the affected buildings (is) falling down,\u201d said Derek Armstrong Chan, deputy director of Fire Service operations. \u201cThe temperature inside the buildings concerned is very high. It\u2019s difficult for us to enter the building and go upstairs to conduct firefighting and rescue operations.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read more<a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/asia-pacific\/20251126-deadly-fire-engulfs-hong-kong-high-rise-buildings-tai-po\">Dozens killed as fire engulfs Hong Kong high-rise residential blocks<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The housing complex consisted of eight buildings with almost 2,000 apartments for about 4,800 residents, including many elderly people. It was built in the 1980s and had been undergoing a major renovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>About 900 people were evacuated to temporary shelters overnight, and&nbsp;Hong&nbsp;Kong&nbsp;leader John Lee said 279 people were missing as of midnight. Rescues were continuing, but an updated figure wasn&#8217;t available as of midmorning Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lawrence Lee, a resident of the towers, was waiting for news about his wife, who was still trapped in their apartment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen 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,\u201d he said, as he waited in one of the shelters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lee, the Chief Executive, said the government will prioritize the disaster and halt promotion for the Dec. 7 elections for the Legislative Council, the city&#8217;s legislature. He didn&#8217;t say if the elections could be delayed but said decisions would come \u201ca few days later\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/china\/\">Chinese<\/a>&nbsp;leader&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/xi-jinping\/\">Xi Jinping<\/a>&nbsp;expressed condolences to the firefighter who died and extended sympathies to the families of the victims, according to state broadcaster CCTV. He also urged efforts to minimize casualties and losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The fire was the deadliest in&nbsp;Hong&nbsp;Kong&nbsp;in decades. In November 1996, 41 people died in a commercial building in Kowloon in a fire that lasted for around 20 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>(FRANCE 24 with AP)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Firefighters battled one of Hong Kong\u2019s deadliest blazes for a second day on Thursday, struggling to contain a fire that swept through high-rise towers and killed at least 83 people. Three construction workers were arrested as rescues continued and smoke billowed from the Wang Fuk Court complex. Issued on:\u00a027\/11\/2025 &#8211;&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/11\/27\/death-toll-from-huge-hong-kong-fire-rises-to-83-with-hundreds-still-missing\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45326"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45326"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45326\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45327,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45326\/revisions\/45327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}