Hong Kong firefighters make final search for survivors after apartment tower blaze kills 94

Hong Kong firefighters conducted a final sweep of a devastated high-rise apartment complex on Friday, searching for any survivors after a catastrophic fire that claimed at least 94 lives in one of the city’s deadliest blazes in decades.

Emergency crews methodically searched through apartments in the Wang Fuk Court complex, focusing particularly on units from which 25 distress calls were received during the fire but could not be reached at the time, according to Derek Armstrong Chan, deputy director of Hong Kong Fire Services.

“Our firefighting operation is almost complete,” Chan told reporters early Friday. “We will endeavor to force entry into all the units of the seven blocks concerned to ensure there are no other possible casualties.”

The devastating fire erupted Wednesday afternoon in one of the complex’s eight towers. It spread with alarming speed as bamboo scaffolding covered in netting, installed for ongoing renovations, caught fire. The flames jumped rapidly from one building to the next until seven of the eight towers were engulfed in the inferno.

More than 1,000 firefighters battled the five-alarm blaze for approximately 24 hours before bringing it under control. Even nearly two days later, smoke continued to drift from the charred buildings as occasional flare-ups persisted.

The scale of the disaster has left the community reeling. The complex housed almost 2,000 apartments with approximately 4,800 residents, many of them elderly. Hong Kong leader John Lee reported Thursday that officials had been unable to make contact with 279 residents, though an updated count of missing persons will only be available once the search operation concludes.

Beyond the staggering death toll, more than 70 people sustained injuries, including 11 firefighters. Approximately 900 displaced residents have sought refuge in temporary shelters established by authorities.

Chan noted that most casualties occurred in the first two buildings to catch fire. The search teams have prioritized upper floors, where the flames were last to be extinguished and where many of the unanswered distress calls originated.

The Wang Fuk Court complex, built in the 1980s in the northern Tai Po district near Hong Kong’s border with mainland China, had been undergoing extensive renovations. These renovations are now under intense scrutiny as investigators seek to understand how the fire spread so rapidly.

Hong Kong’s anti-corruption agency announced Thursday it was investigating possible corruption related to the renovation project. Police have arrested three men—directors and an engineering consultant from a construction company—on suspicion of manslaughter, citing gross negligence.

While authorities have not officially named the firm, The Associated Press confirmed that Prestige Construction & Engineering Company was responsible for the renovation work. Police have seized documents from the company as part of their investigation.

Investigators suspect that some materials on the exterior walls failed to meet fire resistance standards, facilitating the unusually swift spread of the flames. In the one tower that escaped the fire, authorities discovered highly flammable plastic foam panels attached to windows near elevator lobbies on each floor. These panels were believed to have been installed by the construction company, though their purpose remains unclear.

In response to the tragedy, Hong Kong officials have ordered immediate inspections of other housing estates undergoing major renovations to verify that scaffolding and construction materials comply with safety regulations.

This catastrophe marks Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades, surpassing a 1996 blaze in a Kowloon commercial building that killed 41 people. As the search operation concludes Friday, officials will officially end the rescue phase of their response to the disaster, transitioning to recovery and investigation efforts that will likely continue for months.