Hong Kong - Major fire engulf several high-rise buildings, at least 13 deaths, 26 November 2025

[Rikissa]

More than 700 fire fighters are tackling a fire that has spread to several buildings in an apartment block that houses about 4,600 residents. At least 13 people have died, one of them a fire fighter. The fire was reported at 14:51 or 2.51 p.m. local time (06:51 GMT or 1.51 a.m. in New York)

Live from BBC.co.uk:

Hong Kong fire death toll rises to 128 as officials say fire alarms not working properly

Officials are yet to determine the cause of the blaze that ripped through a high-rise residential complex on Wednesday.

www.bbc.com

At least 13 dead after fire engulfs residential high-rise buildings in Hong Kong

At least 13 people died and an unknown number were trapped on Wednesday after a massive fire engulfed multiple high-rise towers of a residential complex in Hong Kong's northern Tai Po district, the government said.

www.reuters.com

 

[amandab]

Oh my god, that's terrifying. The pictures look apocalyptic.

 

[rvlvr]

Looks like the scaffolding has helped the fire to spread. Sadly seems very reminiscent of Grenfell.

 

[CatsnChickens]

In this day and age why on earth are they still using bamboo scaffolding poles???

 

[Rikissa]

In this day and age why on earth are they still using bamboo scaffolding poles???

A history of Hong Kong’s unique bamboo scaffolding

Is it destined to be yet another dying art?

www.timeout.com

Bamboo is a renewable resource as it regrows if planted, when it comes to iron, steel and other metals, unless they are recycled after use, then when the mines get empty those metals will be gone forever.

 

[Serononin]

Looks like the scaffolding has helped the fire to spread. Sadly seems very reminiscent of Grenfell.

That was my first thought, too really hoping this won't have as many casualties as Grenfell, but the footage I've seen is absolutely horrifying to say the least

 

[scandinavian girl]

https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/hong-kong-tai-po-buildings-fire-11-26-25

is home to more than 4,000 people. Many of the residents are pensioners, with roughly 36% of residents 65 or older, according to government-sourced data.


This is awful. When I saw the movie towering inferno i developed a fire phobia especially in high rise building. Grenfell was and still is hearbreaking and now this.

 

[dotr]

Fourteen dead as fire rages through Hong Kong apartment blocks

At least 14 people have been killed by a raging fire at a high-rise Hong Kong housing complex on Wednesday that left others trapped inside.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Hong Kong fire death toll rises to 128 as officials say fire alarms not working properly

Officials are yet to determine the cause of the blaze that ripped through a high-rise residential complex on Wednesday.

www.bbc.com

• ''At least 36 people have been killed in a major fire engulfing apartment blocks in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong, with 279 people not accounted for
• More than 700 firefighters are at the scene trying to tackle the blaze at Wang Fuk Court - which houses about 4,600 residents
• A baby and an elderly woman have been rescued as the late-night emergency operations continue, local media reports
• The government has paid tribute to a 37-year-old firefighter who died fighting the blaze, describing him as "dedicated and gallant"
• Residents are asking for help from local authorities after losing contact with relatives inside the buildings, a local councillor tells the BBC
• The fire has been classed as a level five - the most serious level in Hong Kong''

 

[DS2021]

Hong Kong fire death toll rises to 128 as officials say fire alarms not working properly

Officials are yet to determine the cause of the blaze that ripped through a high-rise residential complex on Wednesday.

www.bbc.com

279 missing

 

[Rikissa]

Looks like the scaffolding has helped the fire to spread. Sadly seems very reminiscent of Grenfell.

According to this CNN article there seems to have been some polystyrene boards used to block windows. If that is true, then it could be a reason why the fire spread as fast as it did to several buildings. Polystyrene is more flammable than the polyethylene that had been used in the cladding covering the Grenfell building. I made a search for "are polyethylene or polystyrene more flammable" and got as an AI answer that polystyrene is highly flammable and produces large amount of black, sooty smoke, something that is seen in the photos from the Hong Kong fire.
Three men have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter following the fire.

https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/hong-kong-tai-po-buildings-fire-11-26-25

The fire might have begun in the bamboo scaffolding, but the real problem appears to be the polystyrene covering the windows, a very flammable material.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Hong Kong fire death toll rises to 128 as officials say fire alarms not working properly

Officials are yet to determine the cause of the blaze that ripped through a high-rise residential complex on Wednesday.

www.bbc.com

279 missing

It's likely that many of those 279 are safe but unaccounted for in the confusion. It's something we commonly see in disasters of all sorts before the picture becomes clearer.

 

[dotr]

Hong Kong Fire Live Updates: 36 Killed and Hundreds Missing in Apartment Blaze

Firefighters were gradually getting the blaze under control at an apartment complex in the city’s northern Tai Po district. Police were investigating whether building and scaffolding materials contributed to the fire's rapid spread.

www.nytimes.com

''The Hong Kong fire shared similarities with one at the Grenfell Tower in London''​

The Grenfell Tower in London caught fire in 2017, killing dozens of people.Credit...Victoria Jones/PA Wire, via Associated Press

''The deadly fire that engulfed several high-rise apartment towers in Hong Kong on Wednesday had strong similarities to the blaze that broke out at Grenfell Tower in London in 2017, and in both cases, those factors made it difficult for firefighters, an official at a fire engineering consulting firm said on Wednesday.

In the Grenfell Tower blaze, said Jonathan Barnett, managing director of Basic Expert, the consulting firm, a combustible element called cladding that ran up the outside of the 24-story building allowed the fire to jump from floor to floor. That fire killed 72 people, the British authorities said.''

 

[MsMarple]

Looks like the scaffolding has helped the fire to spread. Sadly seems very reminiscent of Grenfell.

Was just thinking the same thing. Horrific.

My daughter lives on the 23rd floor in a high rise in Osaka (Japan). The real estate/construction agent assured me of the built in safety features but every I see a fire like this I get queasy.

Those poor souls trapped in the blaze. I can’t even…

 

[Rikissa]

It's likely that many of those 279 are safe but unaccounted for in the confusion. It's something we commonly see in disasters of all sorts before the picture becomes clearer.

Unfortunately, unless those people had been able to leave the buildings early on in the fire then it's unlikely that they have survived the smoke, as polystyrene fumes are toxic. Most of those who died in the Grenfell fire died of smoke inhalation and toxic gases. (If you have objects made of styrofoam, which is made of polystyrene, don't keep those indoors, and as far as possible from anything that could start a fire.)

What Are The Dangers Of Accidentally Burning Styrofoam? - Sciencing

What Are the Dangers of Accidentally Burning Styrofoam?. Burning Styrofoam, or polystyrene, is the least appropriate way to get rid of it for both people and the environment. Research has shown that when Styrofoam is burned it releases toxic chemicals and smoke that can damage the nervous system...

www.sciencing.com

 

[JennieM]

Death toll rises to 44​

The press conference from the Hong Kong authorities has just started and they began by announcing that 44 people are now known to have died in the fire.

According to officials, 40 died at the scene and four more in hospital.

They also say that there are 45 people in critical condition.

Hong Kong fire death toll rises to 128 as officials say fire alarms not working properly

Officials are yet to determine the cause of the blaze that ripped through a high-rise residential complex on Wednesday.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[JennieM]

Police give details on the suspects arrested​

Police have just given more information about the suspects who have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.

The three men, aged between 52 and 68, are from a construction firm - two are directors and one is an engineering consultant.

Police have said they found mesh and protective material on the outside of the buildings that don't seem to be fireproof, as well as Styrofoam on the building's windows.

The police spokesperson said: "We have reason to believe that those in charge at the company were grossly negligent, which led to this accident and caused the fire to spread uncontrollably, resulting in major casualties."

The cause of the fire is still unknown.

Three construction company executives arrested​

Two directors and a consultant of a construction company were arrested by police for being "grossly negligent". The complex was undergoing extensive renovations when the fire began.

Police said they found polystyrene boards blocking windows at the site and suspect they, along with substandard construction materials, may have allowed the fire to spread so quickly.

Dangerous conditions hampering efforts to put out fire​

Some more from the press conference now, where the fire representatives are asked why it's taking so long to put out the fire.

They say operating at night poses additional dangers to crews, which has slowed progress.

The temperatures inside the buildings have also remained very high, making it difficult to work on the upper floors, the fire department's deputy director Derek Armstrong Chan said.

He adds that they are expecting it to take the entire day before the operation to contain the fire is complete, but the fire is under control in four of the eight buildings.

Hong Kong fire death toll rises to 128 as officials say fire alarms not working properly

Officials are yet to determine the cause of the blaze that ripped through a high-rise residential complex on Wednesday.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[MollyHarps]

The fact that 279 are still missing over 12 hours since the fire started suggests the death toll figures are going to be so much higher.

You’d imagine if these missing people were either out, at work on holiday etc the majority would have seen the news by now and contacted law enforcement.

Just awful

 

[Herat]

Certainly all that bamboo scaffolding is flammable, but it is probably the polystyrene panels used to protect the windows all over the building that will have contributed to the highly flammable and highly toxic smoke.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

The BBC has updated the death toll to at least 55 as at 7am GMT this morning.

"At least 55 people have been killed in a major fire engulfing public housing apartments in Hong Kong's Tai Po district - and more than 270 are still not accounted for"

Hong Kong fire death toll rises to 128 as officials say fire alarms not working properly

Officials are yet to determine the cause of the blaze that ripped through a high-rise residential complex on Wednesday.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Updated to 65 dead and almost 300 still missing.

Hong Kong fire death toll rises to 128 as officials say fire alarms not working properly

Officials are yet to determine the cause of the blaze that ripped through a high-rise residential complex on Wednesday.

www.bbc.co.uk

This does seem to be panning out different to other disasters where the initial reports of the numbers of missing turns out to be inflated by multiple people reporting the same individuals missing and the numbers coming down as people are found.