Smoke billows from residential buildings as a fire continues at Wang Fook Court in Tai Po District, Hong Kong, China, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025.
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A massive fire still burning at a Hong Kong apartment complex that killed at least 44 people and left nearly 300 missing may have been sparked by unsafe scaffolding and foam materials used during maintenance work, police said Thursday.
Working through the night, firefighters struggled to reach residents potentially trapped on the upper floors of the Wang Phuc Court housing complex due to intense heat and thick smoke from the blaze that broke out on Wednesday afternoon.
The tightly packed complex in northern Tai Po district has 2,000 apartments in eight blocks that are home to more than 4,600 people in a city struggling with a severe shortage of affordable housing.
As of Thursday morning, authorities said they had brought the fire under control in four blocks, with operations underway in three blocks.
Video from the scene showed flames still leaping from at least two of the 32-story towers covered in bamboo scaffolding and green construction mesh, as heavy smoke billowed into the sky.
Thick smoke and flames rise from a large fire at several apartment blocks at Wang Fook Court Residential Estate in Tai Po District, Hong Kong on November 26, 2025.
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Police said the buildings were covered with protective mesh sheets and plastic that did not meet fire standards, adding that they found that some windows of an unaffected building were sealed with foam material, installed by a construction company to carry out maintenance work.
“We have reason to believe that the responsible parties of the company were grossly negligent, which caused the accident and the fire to spread uncontrollably, resulting in major casualties,” Hong Kong Police Superintendent Eileen Chung said.
Three men, two directors and an engineering consultant from the construction company were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter over the fire, he added.
Green construction mesh and bamboo scaffolding used on buildings are a mainstay of traditional Chinese architecture but have been phased out in Hong Kong since March for safety reasons.
Workers carry rescued cats near a fire at Wang Fook Court in Tai Po District, Hong Kong, China, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025.
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A firefighter was among the 44 killed, with 45 hospitalized in critical condition, Hong Kong police said at a press conference early Thursday morning.
“The priority is to put out the fire and rescue the trapped residents,” Hong Kong leader John Lee told reporters earlier. “The second is to support the injured. The third is to support and recover. Then, we will start a full investigation.”
Some 279 people were uncontacted and 900 were in eight shelters, he added.
The death toll in a Hong Kong fire is the highest since 1948, when 176 people were killed in a warehouse fire.
Essential supplies are placed outside a temporary shelter near Wang Fook Court Residential Estate in Tai Po District, Hong Kong on November 26, 2025.
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Search for relatives
The latest fire has drawn comparisons to the Grenfell Tower inferno that killed 72 people in London in 2017. That fire was blamed on companies fitting the exterior with flammable cladding, as well as government and construction industry failures.
“Our hearts go out to all those affected by the horrific fire in Hong Kong,” the Grenfell United Survivors group said on social media. “To the families, friends and communities, we stand with you. You are not alone.”
A woman named Ng, 52, was distraught as she saw her daughter outside the shelter.
“She and her father haven’t come out yet. They don’t have water to save our building,” she cried, holding up her daughter’s graduation photo.
Harry Cheung, 66, who has lived in block two of the complex for more than 40 years, said he heard a loud bang at about 2:45 a.m. (0645 GMT) and a fire broke out in a nearby block.
“I immediately went back to pack my things,” he said.
“I don’t even know how I feel right now. I’m just thinking about where I’m going to sleep tonight.”
An apartment is still burning as several apartment blocks caught fire in Wang Fook Court Residential Estate in Tai Po District, Hong Kong on November 27, 2025.
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Another longtime resident, a woman surnamed Chu, said she has still not been able to contact her friends who live in the next block. After staying at a friend’s house on Wednesday night, the 70-year-old returned to find her house still burning.
“We don’t know what to do,” she said.
An online application submitted missing persons reports through a linked Google Doc that detailed information on individual tower and room occupants.
It includes descriptions like “mother-in-law in her 70s, missing” or “a boy and a girl” or “Rooftop: 33-year-old male”.
A description simply says “27th Floor, Room 1: He’s dead.” Reuters could not independently verify the information on the app.
China’s Xi urged an ‘all-out’ effort against the fire
Many residents took to social media to criticize what they saw as negligence and cost-cutting as the cause of the fire. A video showed several construction workers smoking on bamboo scaffolding around a block of the complex during the renovation process.
From the mainland, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged “everything possible” to control the fire and minimize casualties and damage, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said.
Hong Kong’s transport department said a number of roads in the area would remain closed on Thursday morning and 39 bus routes had been diverted.
The city’s education bureau said at least six schools would be closed Thursday because of the fire and traffic congestion.
This photo taken on March 9, 2023 in Hong Kong shows a scaffolder building bamboo scaffolding around a neon sign.
Isaac Lawrence | AFP | Getty Images
On Wednesday, scaffolding frames were seen tumbling to the ground as firefighters battled the blaze, while numerous fire engines and ambulances lined the road below the development.
Hong Kong’s government began phasing out bamboo scaffolding in March, citing worker safety after 22 deaths involving bamboo scaffolders between 2019 and 2024. He announced that 50% of public construction works would require the use of metal frames.
Although the fire hazard was not cited as the reason for the phasing out, there have been at least three fires related to bamboo scaffolding this year, according to the Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong’s skyrocketing property prices have long been a source of social discontent in the city, and the fire tragedy could stoke further resentment toward the authorities ahead of city-wide legislative elections in early December.
Wang Fook Court is one of the many high-rise buildings in Hong Kong, one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Tai Po, located near the border with mainland China, is an established suburban district with about 300,000 inhabitants.
Occupied since 1983, the complex is under the government’s subsidized home ownership scheme, according to property agency websites. It is being renovated for a year at a cost of HK$330 million ($42.43 million), with each unit paying between HK$160,000 and HK$180,000, according to online posts.