Through the Lens: Hong Kong apartment fire

Ahuge fire at a high-rise housing complex in Hong Kong has killed at least 94 people as of the morning of Nov. 28. The fire, the city’s deadliest in decades, broke out on the afternoon of Nov. 26 in one of the eight residential towers at Wang Fuk Court – a government-subsidized estate in the northern part of the city which houses around 4,600 residents. It was reported at about 2:50 p.m. and rapidly spread to nearby buildings that were wrapped in bamboo scaffolding and mesh netting.

Wong, 71, shouts after claiming his wife is trapped inside Wang Fuk Court during a major fire. The buildings are in the Tai Po district of the New Territories in Hong Kong, China, Nov. 26. (Photo by Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

People watch as the fire spreads at Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district on Nov. 26. (Photo by Vernon Yuen/AP)

Smoke rises as flames engulf bamboo scaffolding across multiple buildings at Wang Fuk Court housing estate, in Tai Po, Hong Kong, China, Nov. 26. The buildings were undergoing repair work. (Photo by Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

A person receives medical attention following the fire across multiple buildings at Wang Fuk Court housing estate in Hong Kong, Nov. 26, 2025. (Photo by Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

Medical crews attend to an injured patient as a large fire burns bamboo scaffolding across multiple buildings at Wang Fuk Court housing estate in Hong Kong, Nov. 26. (Photo by Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

Emergency supplies are stacked outside a school acting as a temporary shelter after a major fire engulfed residential buildings at Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong. (Photo by Vernon Yuen/AP)

Residents wrapped in blankets watch flames engulf bamboo scaffolding at Wang Fuk Court housing estate after a major fire broke out, Nov. 26. (Photo by Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

Buildings at Hong Kong’s Wang Fuk Court residential estate burn into the night, while fire hoses attempt to douse the flames, Nov. 26. (Photo by Gordon Choi/AP)

Firefighters work to extinguish flames, as fire burns bamboo scaffolding across multiple buildings at Wang Fuk Court housing estate, Hong Kong, Nov. 26. (Photo by Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

Supplies piled up outside a restaurant acting as a temporary shelter after a major fire engulfed several residential buildings in Hong Kong on Nov. 26. (Photo by Kobe Li/AP)

Evacuees wrapped in blankets rest on the street after a major fire at Wang Fuk Court housing estate, Hong Kong, Nov. 26. (Photo by Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

Representatives from different government departments give a news briefing on the fire on Nov. 26 in Hong Kong. (Photo by Gordon Choi/AP)

A woman distributes missing person notices on Nov. 27 after a fire broke out the previous day at the Wang Fuk Court housing complex in Tai Po, Hong Kong. Rescue operations were still under way. (Photo by Hou Yu/AP)

People move a dog affected by the fire at Wang Fuk Court on Nov. 27 in Hong Kong. (Photo by Kobe Li/AP)

Firefighters near residential buildings that continue to burn at Wang Fuk Court in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong, China, on Nov. 27. (Photo by Isaac Lawrence/Getty Images)

Workers remove a body following the fire which broke out at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong's New Territories. Nov. 27. (Photo by Chan Long Hei/AP)

Fire trucks parked at the scene of a fire which broke out on Nov. 26 at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong's New Territories. (Photo by Chan Long Hei/AP)

A firefighter directs a hose at a residential building that continues to burn at Wang Fuk Court in the Tai Po district on Nov. 27 in Hong Kong, China. (Photo by Isaac Lawrence/Getty Images)

Residents support firefighters near the scene of a fire at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong's New Territories, Nov. 27. (Photo by Chan Long Hei/AP)

Residents collect donated clothes on Nov. 27 near the scene of a fire which broke out the day before at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong's New Territories. (Photo by Chan Long Hei/AP)

A woman receives medical attention at a temporary shelter, after a fire started across multiple buildings at Wang Fuk Court housing estate, in Tai Po, Hong Kong, China, Nov. 26. (Photo by Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

A resident rests at a temporary shelter following the fire at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong's New Territories, Nov. 27. (Photo by Chan Long Hei/AP)

Residents rest at a temporary shelter following the fire at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong's New Territories, Nov. 27. (Photo by Chan Long Hei/AP)

A woman reacts at a temporary shelter, after a fire started on Nov. 26 across multiple buildings at Wang Fuk Court housing estate, in Tai Po, Hong Kong, China. (Photo by Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

Residents rest on Nov. 27 near to the scene of a fire which broke out the previous day at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong's New Territories. (Photo by Chan Long Hei/AP)

Smoke rises on Nov. 27 as fire crews continue to work to put out the fires that engulfed several residential buildings at Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong. (Photo by Vernon Yuen/AP)

Buildings continue to smoulder at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong's New Territories, on Nov. 27 after devastating fires broke out the day before. (Photo by Chan Long Hei/AP)