Preventable Tragedy: Outrage Grows Over Hong Kong Fire Disaster

Fri Nov 28 2025 14:46:41 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

The deadly fire at Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong has left 128 dead and raised serious questions about building safety regulations, response measures, and accountability in construction practices.

A massive fire at the Wang Fuk Court residential estate in Hong Kong has resulted in at least 128 fatalities, igniting public outrage and calls for accountability. Criticism has focused on the use of substandard materials during renovations, malfunctioning fire alarms, and alleged negligence from management. Investigations are ongoing, with three contractors arrested for manslaughter. This incident marks Hong Kong's deadliest fire in over six decades, prompting a city-wide inspection of construction safety standards.

Shock is giving way to anger in Hong Kong after a massive fire ripped through a densely populated subsidised housing estate on Wednesday, killing at least 128 people and critically injuring dozens.

Authorities say substandard mesh and plastic sheets on the buildings' windows may have spread the blaze, which raged for more than a day. Firefighting operations have now ended, with dozens of residents still unaccounted for.

Questions are mounting as to how the fire at Wang Fuk Court spread so rapidly and who is responsible, with many calling it a 'man-made disaster'. Three people in charge of renovating the blocks are under arrest for manslaughter, and authorities have launched a corruption inquiry.

A post that has gone viral on social media in the wake of the blaze reads: It's not an accident. Several residents have revealed in interviews that the fire alarm did not sound when the fire broke out. Authorities said on Friday that they had checked the fire alarms in all eight blocks and found that they were not working properly.

Kiko Ma, who owns an apartment at Wang Fuk Court, says the alarms had been turned off amid renovation works, as construction workers regularly used fire escapes to get in and out of the building. Ms Ma lives in Canada with her family but visits the Hong Kong apartment several times a year. This was preventable... A lot of people did not do their duties, the 33-year-old tells the BBC, claiming that the renovation firm used poor quality, flammable materials. Residents often saw construction workers smoking and found cigarette butts along their window ledges, she adds.

This is Hong Kong's deadliest fire in at least 63 years, surpassing the toll of the August 1962 inferno in the Sham Shui Po neighbourhood, which killed 44 people and displaced hundreds.

According to the 2021 census, the complex was home to about 4,600 people - nearly 40% of whom were 65 or older. The city's fire department on Thursday said firefighters faced major challenges trying to rescue residents, including high temperatures and the risk of further scaffolding collapse.

Residents at Wang Fuk Court had expressed unease about renovation plans when they were announced last year. Reports of those concerns have now resurfaced online, sparking accusations around a lack of transparency. Calls from some residents to re-elect the estate's management committee went unheeded, claiming that construction companies often prioritize cost efficiency over safety.