Overview
- Fire services confirmed 13 fatalities, including a firefighter, with at least 15 injured and about 700 residents moved to temporary shelters.
- Flames raced along bamboo scaffolding and construction netting during renovation at Wang Fuk Court, spreading to as many as seven of the complex’s eight blocks.
- Authorities elevated the incident from a four-alarm fire to level five after nightfall as debris and extreme heat hindered entry for rescue teams.
- Responders deployed 128 fire engines and 57 ambulances, using ladder trucks to attack intense façade fires while receiving numerous reports of trapped residents, many elderly.
- Officials opened a formal investigation into the origin and rapid propagation of the blaze, focusing on renovation works and exterior scaffolding under dry, windy conditions.