Grief, trauma weigh on survivors of catastrophic Hong Kong fire

Hong Kong: Hong Kong fire survivor Yip Ka kui has turned happy holiday photos into a heartfelt tribute to his beloved wife a month after she died in t...

Hong Kong: Hong Kong fire survivor Yip Ka-kui has turned happy holiday photos into a heartfelt tribute to his beloved wife a month after she died in the huge blaze that destroyed their home.

Yip, 68, is among thousands grieving the 161 killed at the Wang Fuk Court housing complex, a disaster few could imagine happening in one of Asia's safest and most developed cities.

Even as the Hong Kong government forges ahead with investigations and relief efforts, experts caution that the psychological scars will be hard to heal for survivors, bereaved families and onlookers alike.

In dozens of shots compiled into a memorial video, Yip's wife of four decades, Pak Shui-lin, 66, gently smiles at the camera at the Pyramids of Giza, the Taj Mahal and the Eiffel Tower.

"I blame myself. I always feel I was late to warn her, so she couldn't escape in time," said retired engineer Yip, recalling how the couple tried to flee the burning building on November 26.