Residents recount guilt, chaos in hearing on deadly Hong Kong fire

The fire at Wang Fuk Court in 2025 was the world’s deadliest residential building fire since 1980. Read more at straitstimes.com.

HONG KONG - Survivors who escaped the massive blaze that killed 168 people at a Hong Kong housing estate in 2025 told a public hearing on March 24 they still blame themselves for failing to save their neighbours.

The Nov 26, 2025, fire at Wang Fuk Court, a high-rise complex in the financial hub’s Tai Po district, was the world’s deadliest residential building fire since 1980 and Hong Kong’s worst since 1948.

The inferno swept through seven of the estate’s eight towers, which were under renovation and wrapped in bamboo scaffolding, netting and foam boards – materials that may have accelerated the spread of flames.

Three residents delivered emotional testimonies before an independent committee of investigators, saying they did not hear any fire alarms that day.

Ms Tse Yuk-wa, who lived on the third floor near where the fire is believed to have started, said smoke wafted into her kitchen but she initially assumed it was dust from the construction.

A member of the building’s management staff knocked on her door to warn her.