Published: 08:27, November 27, 2025 | Updated: 17:31, November 27, 2025
Blazing inferno
By Wang Zhan
Firefighters work to put out the major fire at Wang Fuk Court, Tai Po, Hong Kong, in the early morning on Nov 27, 2025. The conflagration had reached the No 5 alarm, the most serious in the city, after it broke out in the afternoon on Nov 26, leaving 55 people dead. (ADAM LAM / CHINA DAILY)
HONG KONG - Fire has been burning overnight at a residential estate in Hong Kong, as the No 5 alarm blaze in Tai Po has been engulfing several apartment blocks since Wednesday afternoon.
Firefighters have been working to put out the fire, which broke out at 2:51 pm on Wednesday and spread rapidly across seven of the estate's eight towers.
Three people involved in a renovation project of the affected buildings were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. Initial investigations showed the exterior protective film, waterproof canvas, and plastic sheeting used on the buildings may not have met fire safety standards.
Massive community support has poured in to assist thousands of residents, such as donated clothes, free meals and services of traditional Chinese medicine.
China Daily photographers Andy Chong and Adam Lam took the photos.
Firefighters work to put out the fire at Wang Fuk Court, Tai Po, Hong Kong, in the early morning on Nov 27, 2025, as the blaze of the No 5 alarm, the most serious in the city, occur in the afternoon on Nov 26, leaving 44 people dead. (ADAM LAM / CHINA DAILY)Firefighters work to put out the fire at Wang Fuk Court, Tai Po, Hong Kong, on Nov 27, 2025, as the blaze of the No 5 alarm, the most serious in the city, occur in the afternoon on Nov 26, leaving 44 people dead. (ADAM LAM / CHINA DAILY)Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu (front, second left), Chief Secretary for Administration Eric Chan Kwok-ki (front, third left) and Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung (front, second right) listen to a briefing by an officer at the Fire Services Department about the fatal fire at Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong's Tai Po district on Nov 27, 2025. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)This aerial photo shows smoke rising from the apartment blocks as firefighters work to put out the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong's Tai Po district on Nov 27, 2025. (PHOTO / CHINA DAILY)Volunteers give out free meals and donated clothes after a major fire swept through several apartment blocks at the Wang Fuk Court residential estate in Hong Kong's Tai Po district on Nov 27, 2025. (ADAM LAM / CHINA DAILY)A man offers free services of traditional Chinese medicine after a major fire swept through several apartment blocks at the Wang Fuk Court residential estate in Hong Kong's Tai Po district on Nov 27, 2025. (ADAM LAM / CHINA DAILY)Workers give a donated jacket to an elderly resident of Wang Fuk Court, in Tai Po, Hong Kong on Nov 27, 2025 after a blaze that reached the No 5 alarm, the most serious in the city, broke out at the housing complex, leaving 55 people dead. (ADAM LAM / CHINA DAILY)A woman cries after learning of the death of her family member in a fatal fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, Hong Kong, on Nov 27, 2025. (ADAM LAM / CHINA DAILY)A woman cries while showing a picture of her daughter who is missing in the fire, in Tai Po, Hong Kong, on Nov 27, 2025. (ADAM LAM / CHINA DAILY)Residents take their personal belongings to a temporary shelter at CCC Fung Leung Kit Memorial Secondary School in Tai Po, Hong Kong, on Nov 27, 2025, as the blaze of the No 5 alarm, the most serious in the city, is still buring at nearby Wang Fuk Court, leaving 44 people dead. (ADAM LAM / CHINA DAILY)Firefighters work to put out the fire at Wang Fuk Court, Tai Po, Hong Kong, on Nov 26, 2025, as the blaze of the No 5 alarm, the most serious in the city, occur in the afternoon. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)The Fire Services Department holds a press conference about the fire at Wang Fuk Court, Tai Po, Hong Kong, on Nov 26, 2025, as the blaze of the No 5 alarm, the most serious in the city, occur in the afternoon. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)Residents are evacuated as fire is burning at Wang Fuk Court, Tai Po, Hong Kong, on Nov 26, 2025. The blaze of the No 5 alarm, the most serious in the city, occur in the afternoon on Nov 26. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)Residents are evacuated to a nearby temporary shelter as fire is burning at Wang Fuk Court, Tai Po, Hong Kong, on Nov 26, 2025. The blaze of the No 5 alarm, the most serious in the city, occur in the afternoon on Nov 26. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)
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