Hong Kong mourns victims of blaze that killed 128 and counting
Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee (C) and other government officials observe three minutes of silence to mourn victims of the Wang Fuk Court residential estate fire, at the Central government offices in Hong Kong on Nov. 29, 2025.
Peter Parks | Afp | Getty Images
Hong Kong on Saturday mourned the 128 people known to have died in a massive fire at a high-rise apartment complex, a toll that is likely to rise with 200 others still unaccounted for days after the disaster.
Local authorities have arrested 11 people in connection with the city’s worst blaze in nearly 80 years as they investigate possible corruption and the use of unsafe materials during renovations at the Wang Fuk Court complex.
Rescue operations at the site in the district of Tai Po, near the border with mainland China, concluded on Friday, though police say they may find more bodies as they search the burnt-out buildings as part of ongoing investigations.
One hundred fifty people remain unaccounted for, according to authorities. Hundreds of officers deployed to search for remains did not found any more bodies but rescued three cats and a turtle, they said at a press conference.
The fire started on Wednesday afternoon and rapidly engulfed seven of the eight 32-storey blocks at the complex, which were wrapped in bamboo scaffolding and green mesh and layered with foam insulation for the renovations.
Search for bodies continues
Authorities have said the fire alarms at the estate, home to more than 4,600 people, had not been working properly.
Hong Kong leader John Lee, other officials and civil servants, all dressed in black, stood in silence for three minutes early on Saturday outside the central government offices, where flags were lowered to half-mast.
The Hong Kong (R) and Chinese flags are flown at half-mast as government officials observe three minutes of silence to mourn victims of the Wang Fuk Court residential estate fire, at the Central government offices in Hong Kong on Nov. 29, 2025.
Peter Parks | Afp | Getty Images
Condolence books have been set up at 18 points around the former British colony for the public to pay their respects.
“Our most heartfelt thoughts are with all those who have lost loved ones and with those that are now living with shock and uncertainty,” Britain’s King Charles said in a statement about the “appalling tragedy”.
At Wang Fuk Court, police officers from the disaster victim identification unit, wearing white overalls, helmets and oxygen masks, entered one of the charred buildings to continue their search for remains.
They climbed over mounds of bamboo scaffolding that had fallen during the disaster and around large puddles of water created after firemen doused the buildings for days to try to lower the temperatures inside.
A resident reacts as she speaks to the media in the aftermath of a major fire that swept through several apartment blocks at the Wang Fuk Court residential estate in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district on Nov. 28, 2025.
Dale De La Rey | Afp | Getty Images
Families and mourners gathered to lay flowers while some faced the grim task of looking at photographs of the dead taken by rescue workers. Authorities said on Friday that only 39 of the 128 dead had been identified.
Hong Kong’s Lee has said the government would set up a HK$300 million ($40 million) fund to help residents while some of China’s biggest listed companies have pledged donations.
People pray at the aftermath of a major fire that swept through several apartment blocks at the Wang Fuk Court residential estate in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district on Nov. 28, 2025.
Philip Fong | Afp | Getty Images
Hundreds of volunteers have also mobilised to help the victims, sorting and distributing items from diapers to hot food.
They formed teams to collect, transport and distribute goods in round-the-clock shifts and have set up a sprawling support camp for displaced residents beside a shopping mall across from the complex.
Domestic workers from Indonesia and the Philippines were also caught up in the tragedy. Hong Kong has around 368,000 such workers, mostly women from low-income Asian countries who live with their employers, often in cramped spaces.
Indonesia said six of its citizens died in the incident. The Philippines said one of its nationals is critically injured, another is confirmed missing, and 28 are thought to be residents of the area but their whereabouts are unknown.
Deadliest blaze since 1948
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.
Residents of Wang Fuk Court were told by authorities last year that they faced “relatively low fire risks” after complaining repeatedly about fire hazards posed by ongoing renovation, the city’s…
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