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Hong Kong Fire: A massive fire broke out in Taipo, Hong Kong on Wednesday afternoon. 44 people have died and 300 people are reported missing due to fire in 8 multi-storey buildings.
27 November, 2025
Hong Kong Fire: A massive fire broke out in Taipo, Hong Kong on Wednesday afternoon. Fire broke out in 8 multi-storey buildings of the city. 44 people have died in this accident and 300 people are reported missing. Hundreds of people were evacuated after a fire spread to seven high-rise apartment buildings at a housing complex in Tai Po District. At least 29 more people are still admitted in the hospital. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said, “The Police and Fire Services Department have already formed a dedicated investigation team to investigate the cause of the fire.”
Fire broke out in 2,000 apartments simultaneously
Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Wednesday expressed condolences to the firefighter who died and sympathized with the families of the victims, according to state broadcaster CCTV. He also appealed to try to reduce casualties and damage. The housing complex consisted of eight buildings, containing approximately 2,000 apartments and housing approximately 4,800 people, including many elderly people. The housing complex was built in the 1980s and has recently undergone major renovation.
900 people sent to temporary shelter
The fire chief said that due to the high temperature at the spot, it became difficult for the crew to carry out the rescue operation. It was not immediately known how the fire started, but officials said the fire started in the exterior scaffolding of one building, a 32-story tower, and then spread inside the building and then to nearby buildings. As the fire quickly spread to the bamboo scaffolding and construction nets installed outside the buildings, a cloud of flames and thick smoke started rising. About 900 people were taken to temporary shelter.
VIDEO | Hong Kong: 36 persons were killed in a fire that spread across multiple high-rise apartment buildings in a Hong Kong housing complex, the city’s fire services said Wednesday.
Another 279 people were reported missing in the deadliest fire in years blazed late into the… pic.twitter.com/oAcMHnlzSU
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 27, 2025
Officials said hundreds of firefighters, police officers and paramedics were deployed. Firefighters poured water on the raging blaze from ladder trucks from above. The fire, which broke out in the afternoon, was upgraded to a Level 5 alarm by nightfall. Officials said that the situation remains very difficult for firefighters. Some people were stranded till Wednesday night. Firefighters sent more than 140 fire trucks and 60 ambulances to the spot.
Such a terrible fire broke out after years
Fire Service Director Andy Yeung said that a 37-year-old firefighter was also among the dead. Bamboo scaffolding is common in building and renovation projects in Hong Kong, although the government said earlier this year that it would gradually begin removing it for public projects due to safety concerns. This fire is the most dangerous fire in Hong Kong in years. In November 1996, 41 people died in a Level 5 fire at a commercial building in Kowloon that lasted about 20 hours.
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