Updated November 28, 2025 at 1:23 PM EST
HONG KONG — A massive fire tore through a high-rise housing complex in Hong Kong on Wednesday into Friday, in one of the region's deadliest blazes in decades.
Hong Kong authorities say at least 128 people have died in the fire and dozens are still missing.
At least one of the dead is a firefighter who was combating the blaze. The Hong Kong fire department also said 76 people were injured.
The fire department chief said the fire alarms failed to operate properly when the fire broke out.
On Friday, police arrested eight people on suspicion of corruption over the renovation works. Earlier in the week, three men were taken away for alleged manslaughter in connection with the fire.
The fire was put out at 10:18am on Friday, according to a government press release.
The Wang Fuk Court complex in Hong Kong's Tai Po district is a cluster of eight public housing towers and home to about 4,600 people, according to a 2021 census.
Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, making it difficult to extinguish large fires, which can spread easily from building to building.
Because of the blaze, several adjacent roads were shut down, along with about 30 bus routes, which were diverted away from the fire. The fire also spread from the housing complex to the Wong Shiu Chi Secondary School about 500 yards away.
When NPR visited the site, it appeared that the height of the buildings was a challenge for firefighters, because of the limited lengths of their ladders. Firehoses were pointed at the buildings, but the water stream was only hitting halfway or two-thirds of the way up.
Outside the building, one elderly couple, who asked NPR not to use their names, said they had lived in Wang Fuk Court since it was built. They were sitting on a park bench, with a nylon bag stuffed with a blanket, and a foldable mattress at their feet, watching the fires still burning. They weren't sure if their apartment survived, but they would now stay at their son's home.
Another woman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said she was 65, and has lived there with her husband for more than 40 years. She found out about the fire from a text message from a friend, seconds before the alarm went off and she knew she had to leave. She tried to alert her neighbor, a man in his 80s who has trouble walking, but there was no answer, and she still hasn't heard from him.
About 1,000 of the surviving residents are being housed in community shelters. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said the city's police and fire services department had set up a team to investigate the cause of the fire.
China's leader Xi Jinping sent condolences to the families of the victims.
Authorities say the death toll could still rise. Several people injured in the fire were in critical condition, according to a government official. And firefighters are still trying to rescue trapped residents. One elderly man was rescued this afternoon from the 31st floor of one of the buildings, a fire department official said.
Built in 1983, the Wang Fuk Court complex had been due for renovations, and its towers had been encased with bamboo scaffolding, a traditional building material, when the fire broke out.
Last year, Hong Kong's government began phasing out bamboo in scaffolding material and replacing it with steel, arguing that metal posed less of a fire hazard.
Comparisons are already being made to the Grenfell Tower fire in London in 2017. In that fire, a postmortem report blamed government, regulators and industry in the UK for the deaths of 72 people.
On Thursday, the Grenfell United survivors' group posted on social media: "Our hearts go out to all those affected by the horrific fire in Hong Kong. To the families, friends and communities, we stand with you. You are not alone."
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