Sense of sombre unity as Hong Kong mourns 128 killed in blaze

A sense of sombre unity permeated the whole of Hong Kong on Saturday as residents from all walks of life mourned the victims of the city’s deadliest fire in seven decades by signing condolence books or flooding areas near the scene of the inferno with bouquets.

By Saturday evening, lengthy queues had grown near ground zero, Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, with residents of all ages silently lining up with flowers in hand, turning several memorial sites into a sea of bouquets to remember those killed in the blaze that erupted on Wednesday.

At least 128 people were killed and 83 injured by the fire that engulfed seven of the eight 31-storey residential blocks.

It took Eddy Au Yeung, a 41-year-old who works in the import and export sector, at least 45 minutes for his turn.

“I live in Hong Kong. This estate and its many blocks have a lot of residents who lost their homes and their families; it is something that is very hard to accept,” he said.

“When I saw the site with my eyes for the first time, I thought that it was in such a horrible place, it was almost like hell on Earth. Being inside must have been very hard.”

Source link

Visited 1 times, 1 visit(s) today

Hong Kong begins 3 days of mourning as more arrests made over deadly blaze

Hong Kong began a three-day official mourning period on Saturday for victims of the city’s deadliest blaze in decades as residents queued at the site of the tragedy and various halls to pay their respects, penning tributes and laying flowers. For the first time since the fire broke out on Wednesday at Wang Fuk Court

29 November 2025

3 cats and turtle rescued from Hong Kong residential complex days after fire

Several more pets have been rescued from the burned buildings of a residential complex in Tai Po, as animal charities continued to search for separated owners and expressed concerns that animals still trapped will have gone days without food or water. Authorities said on Saturday that a sweep of two blocks where flames were first

29 November 2025

Hong Kong’s national security police question man over fire response petition

Hong Kong’s national security police have questioned an individual who allegedly launched a petition calling on the government to address four demands following the deadly blaze in Tai Po, the Post has learned. The move on Saturday came as the central government’s national security authorities in Hong Kong warned against “anti-China and ill-intentioned individuals” exploiting

29 November 2025

Portraits of courage: domestic helpers who stayed with their wards during Hong Kong fire

As Hong Kong reels from its deadliest fire in decades, a highly visible community of foreigners is also in mourning as it awaits the fate of at least 80 of its own who remain missing. They are the domestic helpers who remain unaccounted for five days after the blaze, among more than 200 working in

29 November 2025

Hong Kong minister urges NGOs to work more closely with government over fire aid

Hong Kong’s home affairs minister has called on NGOs to better coordinate with the government on their support for residents displaced in the city’s deadliest fire in decades following reported confusion on the ground. Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen on Saturday also rejected accusations the government-backed care teams had called police

29 November 2025

Hong Kong dad saved from burning building asks how to start over with nothing

Watching his young children’s faces light up with excitement, William Li felt relief, but the deep ache in his chest was overwhelming. His son and daughter were happy he had saved their most treasured possessions – a mobile phone and an iPad – from the inferno that had just devoured their home in Hong Kong’s

29 November 2025

HK$60,000 fire subsidy only for Wang Fuk Court residents: Hong Kong minister

The Hong Kong government’s HK$60,000 (US$7,710) subsidy for victims of the Tai Po fire is only for residents living in Wang Fuk Court, the home affairs minister has clarified amid alleged cases of abuse online. Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen said on Saturday that authorities had not received any formal abuse

29 November 2025

‘We are with you in hour of need’: volunteers rally to help Hong Kong fire displaced

As despair draped the air and hopes dimmed for the scores still unaccounted for, one scene stood out on the second night after Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades: volunteers forming long human chains next to the charred buildings in Tai Po, passing on supplies hand to hand. These volunteers – mobilised mostly through social

29 November 2025

Hong Kong Fire That Killed At Least 94 Puts Focus on Missed Warnings

Authorities probe corruption, negligence in Hong Kong fire that killed at least 128

Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades has raised questions about corruption and negligence in the renovations of the apartment complex where at least 128 people died. An intense fire broke out at Wang Fuk Court complex in Hong Kong’s northern suburbs Wednesday afternoon, with flames covering seven of the eight towers. The complex was home

29 November 2025

Not a typical footballer: how Inigo Calderon stands out from Hong Kong crowd

After Inigo Calderon quit playing football in 2019, he planned to travel the world for a year, indulging his fondness for “going out and feeling free”. Instead, he ended up in management, and now finds himself in the Hong Kong Premier League, leading Kitchee’s resurgence. The 43-year-old threw himself into Hong Kong’s mountains and hiking

29 November 2025

Why this Aids charity’s Hong Kong art show smells of resilience

Victor clearly recalls the day 10 years ago that changed his life. It was a Sunday, and he had gone to Hong Kong charity Aids Concern, where he volunteers, to have a rapid antibody test for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), an infection that attacks the body’s immune system. For weeks, he had been experiencing diarrhoea

29 November 2025

Hong Kong reaps the fruits of fintech seeds sown nearly 10 years ago

When Alvin Kwock, co-founder of digital insurer OneDegree, took part in the inaugural Hong Kong FinTech Week in November 2016, it was held at a venue suitable for only a few hundred people. “As it was the first ever fintech event in Hong Kong, only fintech start-ups were interested, no big financial institutions paid attention,”

29 November 2025

Three days of mourning begins after Hong Kong apartment fire

Hong Kong officials mark beginning of official mourning period with moment of silence Hong Kong officials have held a moment of silence at the start of a three-day mourning period to remember those killed after the city’s deadliest fire in nearly 80 years. At least 128 people are now known to have died in the

29 November 2025

Vantage Foundation Donates HK$1 Million to Support Residents Affected by Hong Kong Fire

HONG KONG, Nov. 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ –Vantage Foundation has donated HK$1 million to support the emergency response and post-disaster reconstruction following the Level 5 fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, Hong Kong. The fire caused severe damage to multiple households and significantly disrupted the lives of local residents. The donation has been allocated to

29 November 2025

Catch Spencer Sweeney’s Hong Kong exhibition, US artist who paints like he’s making jazz

For American painter Spencer Sweeney, the artistic process is less of a linear path and more of an improvised musical composition, filled with subconscious rhythm and unpredictable bursts of colour. This is perhaps unsurprising given that the 52-year-old grew up in a family of musicians and artists, and works as a painter and a DJ

29 November 2025

Is the Stock’s 18% Discount to Fair Value a Real Opportunity?

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (SEHK:388) traded with modest moves recently, as investors weigh sector shifts and the group’s steady financials. The current share price reflects recent cautious optimism about Asia’s capital markets. See our latest analysis for Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing’s share price has seen a solid year-to-date

29 November 2025

Hotelier races to shelter Hong Kong fire victims using Grenfell disaster lessons

A hotelier is drawing on her experience sheltering survivors of London’s Grenfell Tower disaster to spearhead a relief operation at Hong Kong’s former Covid-19 isolation centre as she races to source 700 beds for families displaced by the Wang Fuk Court fire. Winnie Chiu Wing-kwan, the president and executive director of Dorsett Hospitality International, has

29 November 2025

‘Sad but glad to help’: Hong Kong fire teaches children lesson in empathy

Beneath the podium at Kwong Fuk Estate in Tai Po, between rows of relief booths and supply tables stacked with bottled water and meal boxes, a group of children took a break from their volunteering duties. But they did not rest for long. As soon as they finished eating, they darted through the crowds to

29 November 2025

Keagan de Melo boots home Copartner Prance.

Grateful Keagan de Melo departs Hong Kong as French star Maxime Guyon gets up and running | HK Racing

A grateful Keagan De Melo will wave goodbye to Hong Kong racing on Sunday and is hoping to end his stint on a high when he rides Shanwah and Baby Crystal at Sha Tin. The South African will have his final rides in the city at the behind-closed-doors fixture and he is hoping to add

29 November 2025

Hong Kong fire tragedy: Were authorities alerted long before? Key details

More than a year before a massive blaze tore through the Wang Fuk Court housing estate in Hong Kong, residents had raised an alarm over the use of flammable construction materials during ongoing renovation works. Their concerns, largely dismissed at the time, have now resurfaced at the centre of a widening investigation into one of

29 November 2025

Sense of sombre unity as Hong Kong mourns 128 killed in blaze

Related Article