A massive blaze engulfed several high-rise residential blocks in a sprawling Hong Kong estate on Wednesday, claiming the lives of at least 13 people with local media predicting many more still trapped by the flames.
Upwards of 700 firefighters have reportedly been mobilised to battle the conflagration at at Wang Fuk Court – which houses about 4,600 residents.
Wang Fuk Court consists of eight tower blocks, which are each 31-storeys high.
Firefighters tackle a fire engulfing residential buildings at Wang Fuk Court in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong, China, on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. A major fire has engulfed an eight-tower, high-rise complex in Hong Kong, killing at least 15 people. (Yik Yeung-man/Bloomberg via Getty)
AFP reports massive flames first took hold on bamboo scaffolding on several apartment blocks on the estate in Tai Po, a district in the northern part of the Chinese financial hub, before engulfing other parts of the buildings.
A reporter from the outlet heard loud cracking sounds, possibly from the burning bamboo, and saw thick plumes of smoke billowing from at least five out of the estate’s eight buildings as flames and ash reached high into the sky.
“There’s nothing that can be done about the property. We can only hope that everyone, no matter old or young, can return safely,” a Tai Po resident surnamed So, 57, told AFP near the scene of the fire.
Thick smoke and flames rise as fire engulfs high-rise residential buildings at the Wang Fuk Court complex on November 26, 2025 in Hong Kong, China. At least 15 people are dead and dozens of others injured as a major fire engulfed a residential apartment complex in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district on November 26. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)
“It’s heartbreaking. We’re worried there are people trapped inside.”
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