Hong Kong begins 3 days of mourning for fire victims; death toll at 128 – as it happened

What we know so far:

• 128 people, including a firefighter, confirmed dead

• 79 injured, including 12 firefighters

• Status of 200 people unclear

• More bodies are retrieved from fire scene wrapped in black bags

• Rescue work is ongoing, with a woman, an elderly man and pets evacuated

• The eight residential blocks in the estate had been undergoing renovations since July 2024, covered in bamboo scaffolding and green mesh

• Authorities say highly flammable styrofoam material used in renovation works caused fire to spread rapidly

• Government has launched criminal investigations to find cause of blaze

• Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) arrests eight people

• Three senior staff members of renovation company Prestige Construction & Engineering Co Limited earlier arrested for alleged manslaughter

Hong Kong’s anti-corruption agency has arrested two directors of Will Power Architects Company, the consultancy in charge of the renovation project at fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, followed by six more people later, bringing the number of arrests to 11 over the blaze that has claimed 128 lives.

John Lee Ka-chiu earlier ordered inspections of all public housing estates undergoing major renovations, with authorities launching a criminal investigation into the city’s deadliest conflagration in seven decades.

Rescue work continues as raging flames in all blocks have been brought under control in Wang Fuk Court. Some 56 people remain in hospital.

According to a preliminary investigation, officers discovered highly flammable styrofoam cloaking lift windows on every floor, which authorities said caused the fire to spread more rapidly within the blocks and ignite flats through the corridors.

The mesh netting and sheeting used outside the buildings also did not meet fire safety standards, officials said on Wednesday night.

Three senior staff members of Prestige Construction & Engineering Co Limited, including two directors, were arrested for alleged manslaughter on Thursday. The renovation company allegedly used non-compliant materials in scaffolding nets and sealed windows with styrofoam, which sparked the tragedy as the highly flammable substances caused the fire to spread rapidly.

President Xi Jinping expressed his condolences on Wednesday evening and called for “all-out efforts” to minimise casualties and losses. After visiting the injured in hospital early on Thursday, city leader Lee vowed to investigate the fire and the scaffolding.

The fire was first reported at 2.51pm on Wednesday and soon grew into an inferno, with huge plumes of dark smoke billowing high into the sky, and the flames quickly spreading to seven of the eight blocks in the estate.

Initial footage showed bamboo scaffolding outside several flats rapidly bursting into spiralling flames, before being completely engulfed in multiple towering columns of fire. Burning sections of green scaffolding mesh fell to the ground.

Hotlines for help and donations:

Casualty inquiry hotline of police: 1878 999

Health Bureau’s Mental Health Support Hotline: 18111

Tai Po District Office help desk at Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital for assistance and public inquiries: 2658 4040.

Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui (donations): 8209 8122

Hong Kong Family Welfare Society (donations): 2772 2322

More from our coverage:

Reporting by Ambrose Li, Denise Tsang, Willa Wu, Mike Chan, Natalie Wong, Fiona Sun, Fiona Chow, Jess Ma and William Zheng.