At Least 44 Dead in Hong Kong High-Rise Fire; Over 270 Missing

Nov 27, 2025 – At least 44 people have died and more than 270 people yet unaccounted for in the major fire which broke out on Wednesday afternoon in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district. The fire engulfed apartment towers in a residential block of eight buildings with around 2,000 apartments and is being described as the country’s worst fire in decades.

Three persons have been arrested by Hong Kong police on charge of gross negligence which involved leaving inflammable materials, like foam packaging, at the site which led to the fire spreading rapidly. Two of the arrested are directors of a construction firm and one is an engineering consultant.

There were repairs going on in the housing complex Wang Fu Court as a result of which there were bamboo scaffoldings on the towers. This, say authorities, may have allowed the blaze to spread quickly. Additionally, mesh and plastic sheets on the windows of the apartments undergoing renovation also could have led the fire to intensify.

According to government sources, scores of people have been hospitalised and 45 of them are critical. Many are still missing and hundreds have been moved to temporary shelters.

The blaze was largely brought under control by daybreak although dense smoke continued to billow out of the burnt structure.

The cause of the fire is being investigated. The authorities have upgraded the fire to Level 5, which is the highest level and the deadliest since the last one 17 years ago.

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