Massive flames on Nov. 26 first took hold on bamboo scaffolding on several apartment blocks of the Wang Fuk Court estate in Tai Po, a district in the northern part of the Chinese financial hub, before engulfing other parts of the buildings.
An AFP reporter heard loud cracking sounds, possibly from the burning bamboo, and saw thick plumes of smoke billowing from at least five out of the estate's eight buildings as flames and ash reached high into the sky.
Photo by AP
Residents rest at a temporary shelter after a fire broke out at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong's New Territories, Nov. 26, 2025.
The blaze, still smoldering early Thursday, has claimed at least 44 lives, with authorities reporting hundreds more remain unaccounted for.
Photo by AP
Smoke rises after a fire broke out at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong's New Territories, Nov. 26 2025.
Photo by AP
Firefighters try to extinguish a fire that broke out at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong's New Territories, Nov. 26 2025.
Photo by AP
People look at flames engulfing a building after a fire broke out at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong's New Territories, Nov. 26 2025.
Photo by AP
Firefighters work to extinguish a fire that broke out at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong's New Territories.
Photo by AP
Thick smoke and flames rise as a major fire engulfs several apartment blocks at the Wang Fuk Court residential estate in Hong Kong's Tai Po district on November 26, 2025.
Deadly fires were once a regular scourge in densely populated Hong Kong, especially in poorer neighborhoods.
However, safety measures have been ramped up in recent decades and such fires have become much less commonplace.
Photo by AFP
