Overview
- Authorities report 160 confirmed deaths in the Wang Fuk Court blaze, and police note ongoing examinations could still adjust the final tally.
- Police plan searches of scaffolding and protective façade netting on seven affected buildings to recover remains and gather evidence.
- Preliminary reporting indicates the fire spread rapidly along bamboo scaffolding used for renovation, and developers backed a full construction‑site smoking ban as citywide removal of safety netting was ordered.
- Emergency relief includes shelters, immediate cash assistance, and a recovery fund totaling about HK$3.3 billion from public donations and HK$300 million in government seed funding.
- Separate incidents included a residential fire in Guangdong that killed 12, while multiple blazes in Russia were contained with evacuations and limited injuries reported.