Hong Kong fire kills 55, hundreds remain missing

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Hong Kong firefighters brought under control on Thursday (November 27) a huge blaze in an apartment complex that killed at least 55 and left nearly 300 missing, while police said its cause could have been a "grossly negligent" construction firm using unsafe materials.

Rescuers battled intense heat and thick smoke for more than a day after the blaze erupted as they fought to reach residents feared trapped on the upper floors of the Wang Fuk Court housing complex in the northern district of Tai Po. (5246-HONGKONG-FIRE/RESIDENT)

HONG KONG, CHINA (NOVEMBER 26, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all) (NIGHT SHOTS)

1. APARTMENT COMPLEX ON FIRE

2. VARIOUS OF EMERGENCY VEHICLES AND CREWS AT SCENE

3. BUILDING BEING SPRAYED WITH WATER

4. PEOPLE DROPPING AID PACKAGES ON STREET

5. PERSON CRYING BEING HELD BY OTHER PEOPLE AND STANDING IN FRONT OF POLICE

6. AID PACKAGES

7. (SOUNDBITE) (Cantonese) 65-YEAR-OLD WANG FUK COURT BLOCK ONE RESIDENT, JASON KONG, SAYING:

“One neighbour said he still could not find his wife. Some said they are safe. I know some are still inside the building, why is there no one saving them? Are we waiting for them…how should we deal with this? I know someone who has young children and elderly in their family. I called him and he said he was still trapped inside the building.”

Drone video captured on Thursday showed the scale of the fire in the Hong Kong residential apartment complex that killed at least 55 people and left almost 300 missing. (5321-HONGKONG-FIRE/DRONE)

HONG KONG, CHINA (NOVEMBER 27, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all) (MUTE)

8. VARIOUS DRONE SHOTS OF HONG KONG TOWERS ON FIRE, SMOKE RISING FROM BUILDINGS

As firefighters continue to work to douse fires that engulfed a Hong Kong apartment complex on Thursday (November 27), evacuated residents were overwhelmed, some left wondering what would happen next. (5322-HONGKONG-FIRE/MORNING)

HONG KONG, CHINA (NOVEMBER 27, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

9. VARIOUS OF FIREFIGHTERS ARRIVING AND GEARING UP

10. VARIOUS OF BLACK SMOKE BILLOWING FROM THE COMPLEX

11. VARIOUS OF FLAMES RISING FROM A WINDOW

Bodies were seen being transported onto waiting ambulances in Hong Kong on Thursday as the number of victims of a massive fire continued to rise.

A firefighter was among the 55 killed, with 45 people in hospital in critical condition, Hong Kong police told a press conference before dawn. (5346-HONGKONG-FIRE/BODIES)

HONG KONG, CHINA (NOVEMBER 27, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

12. VARIOUS OF BODY BAGS BEING LOADED ONTO A TRUCK

A resident who was only identified as Mrs Wan said they had lived in the complex for over twenty years.

Wan’s daughter, Wendy, who was too distraught to speak, lost three of her pet parrots to the fire. (5322-HONGKONG-FIRE/MORNING)

HONG KONG, CHINA (NOVEMBER 27, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

13. RESIDENTS MRS WAN (FIRST NAME NOT GIVEN), 51, AND DAUGHTER WENDY WAN, 23, CRYING

14. (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) RESIDENT OF WANG FUK COURT BLOCK 1 FOR 20 YEARS, MRS WAN (FIRST NAME NOT GIVEN), 51, SAYING:

“How do I feel now? I even feel like dying. Seeing it like this and being unable to help - what can we do?”

15. RESIDENT WENDY CRYING WHILE ON PHONE

16. VARIOUS OF EVACUATED RESIDENTS SITTING WITH BLANKETS / WATCHING THE SMOULDERING APARTMENT COMPLEX

17. (SOUNDBITE) (Cantonese) EVACUATED RESIDENT WHO LIVES IN BUILDING NEXT TO WANG FUK COURT, DAISY YAN, 60, SAYING:

“A lot of my friends and friends of friends are living in the same complex. Some are uncontactable. I feel like…if it is not happening to me, I would not feel much. But experiencing first-hand now, I felt distressed.”

A senior Hong Kong fire official said on Thursday (November 27) that firefighters are trying their best to save lives despite being hindered by high temperatures, collapsed scaffolding, and constrained spaces, as a huge fire continued to rage in an apartment complex that has killed at least 55 and left nearly 300 missing. (5389-HONGKONG-FIRE/NEWSER)

HONG KONG, CHINA (NOVEMBER 27, 2025) (REUTERS - Access All)

18. NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS

19. (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF FIRE SERVICES (PUBLIC SAFETY AND CORPORATE STRATEGY), WONG KA WING, SAYING:

"Actually, our major challenge is that the temperature is very high in the fire ground and the inside layout is very complex because the scaffolding has collapsed. And our firefighters need to confront the high temperature to proceed to the fire ground one layer by one layer. It is very difficult for us."

On Thursday, family members of victims began arriving at a community centre to undergo the painful process of identifying their loved ones lost to the deadly blaze. (5404-HONGKONG-FIRE/IDENTIFICATION)

HONG KONG, CHINA (NOVEMBER 27, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

20. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE OUTSIDE COMMUNITY CENTRE TO IDENTIFY BODIES OF VICTIMS OF DEADLY APARTMENT COMPLEX FIRE

Police said in addition to buildings being covered with protective mesh sheets and plastic that did not meet fire standards, windows on one unaffected building were sealed with a foam material, installed by a construction company carrying out maintenance work. (5310-HONGKONG-FIRE/POLICE)

HONG KONG, CHINA (NOVEMBER 27, 2025) (HONG KONG FIRE SERVICE DEPARTMENT – Editorial use only.)

21. (SOUNDBITE) (Cantonese) SENIOR SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE, HONG KONG POLICE FORCE NEW TERRITORIES NORTH REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS, EILEEN CHUNG, SAYING:

"During firefighting and rescue operations, the Fire Services Department discovered that the building’s exterior walls had protective nets, membranes, waterproof tarpaulins, and plastic sheets suspected of not meeting fire safety standards. Meanwhile, our police investigation at the scene found that in an unaffected building, every floor’s elevator lobby windows were sealed with foam material."

22. WHITE FLASH

23. (SOUNDBITE) (Cantonese) SENIOR SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE, HONG KONG POLICE FORCE NEW TERRITORIES NORTH REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS, EILEEN CHUNG, SAYING:

"Police have identified three individuals responsible from the construction company: two directors and one engineering consultant. Earlier, at around 2 a.m., we arrested three local men in Tai Po, Ngau Tau Kok, and San Po Kong districts on suspicion of manslaughter. They are aged between 52 and 68 and remain in police custody for investigation.”

Hong Kong leader John Lee on Thursday (November 27) extended his “deepest condolences” to those affected in the city’s deadliest fire in three decades, adding that the authorities are taking the incident with utmost seriousness. (5233-HONGKONG-FIRE/BRIEFING-CHIEF-EXECUTIVE)

HONG KONG, CHINA (NOVEMBER 27, 2025) (HONG KONG INFORMATION SERVICES DEPARTMENT - Editorial use only)

24. (SOUNDBITE) (Cantonese) HONG KONG CHIEF EXECUTIVE, JOHN LEE, SAYING:

“I take this incident with the utmost seriousness. I have instructed all government departments and units to make every effort on multiple fronts. Our top priority is to extinguish the fire and rescue the trapped residents. The second is to treat the injured, and the third is to provide follow-up support. Afterward, we will conduct a thorough investigation.”

Sky-high property prices have long fuelled social discontent in Hong Kong, where the fire tragedy could stoke further resentment towards authorities ahead of a city-wide legislative election in early December. (5320-HONGKONG-FIRE/TIMELAPSE)

HONG KONG, CHINA (NOVEMBER 26-27, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all) (NIGHT SHOTS) (MUTE)

25. TIMELAPSE OF FIREFIGHTERS WORKING OVERNIGHT TO BRING DOWN FIRES ENGULFING RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS

Wang Fuk Court is one of many high-rise housing complexes in Hong Kong, a city renowned for its high population density. Tai Po, near the border with mainland China, is an established suburban district home to about 300,000. (5369-HONGKONG-FIRE/ANIMATION)

ANIMATION (CREATED NOVEMBER 27, 2025) (GOOGLE EARTH - Must not obscure on screen courtesy. No resale.) (MUTE)

26. VARIOUS OF ANIMATION OF WANG FUK COURT, MADE USING A COMPOSITE OF SATELLITE IMAGERY FROM SEVERAL SOURCES AND DATES