'This was preventable': Anger and unanswered questions after Hong Kong fire

The police said they expected the death toll of 128 to rise as the authorities began combing through the charred apartment towers.

After Beijing reshaped the political order in Hong Kong in its image, the fire has become a test of how well that new system can govern in a crisis.

As the year comes to a close, we want to know your highly specific, idiosyncratic bests of 2025.

Residents of Wang Fuk Court apartments had raised concerns about flammable foam panels and scaffold netting, but the government did not take decisive action.

Families are combing hospitals hoping to find their loved ones as about 200 people still listed as missing, and at least 128 killed An outpouring of grief was set to sweep Hong Kong on Saturday as an official, three-day mourning period began with a moment of silence for the 128 people killed in one of the city’s deadliest fires . City leader John Lee, along with senior ministers and dozens of top civil servants, stood in silence for three minutes on Saturday morning outside the government headquarters, where the flags of China and Hong Kong were flown at half-mast. Continue reading...

Volunteers that emerged during the pro-democracy protests regroup to help those affected by the blaze Hong Kong’s grassroots community groups have sprung into action to help coordinate and deliver aid to the survivors of the Wang Fuk Court fire, a catastrophic blaze that is confirmed to have killed at least 128 people, with hundreds still missing. Restaurants, churches and gyms in the Tai Po area, where the Wang Fuk Court housing estate is located, have been turned into temporary shelters for people in need of clothes, food and information as a result of the tragedy. Continue reading...

A large chemical tank was blown into the air by the explosion, with more than 200 firefighters called to the scene.

Questions are mounting as to how the deadly fire spread so rapidly - and who should be held responsible.

Footage geolocated by BBC Verify show the blaze taking hold in Wang Cheong House.

More than 800 firefighters were still tackling the blaze at Wang Fuk Court this morning.

At least 36 people were killed and hundreds are missing after a fire engulfed several high-rise residential towers in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district Wednesday. John Lee, Hong Kong’s chief executive, said at a press conference that 279 people are missing, and 29 people have been hospitalized, including seven in critical condition. "Police and the Fire Services Department have already set up a dedicated investigation team to investigate the cause of the fire," Lee told reporters. Hong Kong’s Fire Services Department said it received reports of a blaze breaking out at the Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, a district in the northern New Territories, around 2:50 p.m. EXPLOSION ROCKS SENIOR LIVING APARTMENT BUILDING IN OHIO, MULTIPLE PEOPLE INJURED The fire was upgraded to a No. 5 alarm, the most severe rating in Hong Kong, by 6:22 p.m. In a government statement, the department said nine people were taken to the Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital and the Prince of Wales Hospital. Tang Ping-keung, the secretary for security of Hong Kong, said one fireman died after sustaining injuries while battling the blaze. "I am profoundly grieved at the passing of Mr Ho, who lost his life in the course of an operation. I offer my deepest condolences to his family members," Tang said. Photos from the scene showed the bamboo scaffolding of the towers engulfed in flames and thick, dark smoke pouring out of multiple floors. Firefighters were working to extinguish the blaze, and one man was photographed in visible distress, saying his wife was trapped inside. LA FIREFIGHTERS ORDERED TO LEAVE FIRE THAT EXPLODED INTO PALISADES FIRE DAYS LATER: REPORT Chan Kwong-tak, an 83-year-old retiree living in the community, told The South China Morning Post that the fire alarms failed to go off when the blaze broke out, even though the buildings were equipped with them. "If someone was sleeping then, they were done," he said. Tai Po’s former district councillor, Herman Yiu Kwan-ho, also told the outlet that residents reported not hearing the fire alarms go off even after they detected the smell of smoke . He said they were only warned when a security guard knocked on their doors, giving them little time to get out. The Tai Po District Office opened temporary shelters for people in need at the Kwong Fuk Community Hall and the Tung Cheong Street Community Hall.