Hong Kong tower fire death toll rises to 128, as 200 remain missing

28/11/2025 16:31

The death toll from Hong Kong's worst fire in nearly 80 years has risen to 128 and about 200 people remain missing from the high-rise residential complex that was engulfed by the blaze, the city's security chief said on Friday.



The fire hit the Wang Fuk Court development, with eight 32-storey towers, in the northern district of Tai Po on Wednesday afternoon.



Hong Kong Security Chief Chris Tang, speaking at a press conference, said fire alarms in the complex had not been working properly.



Rescue efforts had now been concluded and at least 79 people, including 12 firefighters were injured, he said.



Police said they had arrested three construction company officials on suspicion of manslaughter for using unsafe materials, including flammable foam boards blocking windows.



The fire is Hong Kong's deadliest since 1948, when 176 people died in a warehouse blaze, and has prompted comparisons to London's Grenfell Tower inferno, which killed 72 people in 2017.



That fire was blamed on firms fitting the exterior with flammable cladding, as well as failings by the government and the construction industry.



Police arrested two directors and an engineering consultant of Prestige Construction, a firm identified by the government as doing maintenance on Wang Fuk Court for more than a year.