December 1, 2025
HONG KONG – The death toll from the deadly blaze at Tai Po‘s Wang Fuk Court climbed to 146 as search operations continued on Sunday. The fifth day since the fire broke out saw thousands of people lining up to mourn the lives lost.
As of 4 pm, the death toll stood at 146, with 79 people injured, and 54 bodies awaiting identification, police said in a media briefing.
Another 18 additional bodies were recovered by the police’s Disaster Victims Identification Unit (DVIU), which is responsible for combing through the charred towers.
Most of them were discovered in Wang Tai House, one of the two most severely damaged towers in the residential complex.
Searches of four buildings – Wang Yan House, Wang Dao House, Wang Kin House, and Wang Tai House – have been completed, with three more affected blocks to be searched next. Operations in Wai Shing House were conducted Sunday and search teams plan to move on to Wang Sun House.
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It will take three to four weeks to complete the search operations, with the remaining three buildings constituting “the most complex challenges”, said Lam Man-han, regional commander of police’s New Territories North force.
The sole untouched tower in the complex, Wang Chi House, will remain sealed due to the risk of falling debris, Lam said.
Conditions inside the fire-ravaged blocks are extremely hazardous, with the interiors completely charred and no electricity for lighting, said the DVIU’s head, Cheng Ka-chun.
He said the lighting inside the buildings makes searching difficult even during the daytime, with officers having to rely on headlamps and portable lights alongside illumination devices provided by the Chinese mainland.
A resident pays her respects to the victims of the deadly Wang Fuk Court blaze in Tai Po on Nov 30, 2025. PHOTO: CHINA DAILY
“Even during the daytime, it’s very difficult to see in areas away from the windows. We have to go all out and conduct the search during the day to be most efficient,” Cheng said,
Conditions outside the blocks are also difficult as the area is littered with fallen debris, including bamboo scaffolding and air conditioning units.
Meanwhile, Leung Hung-wai, deputy director of development and construction at the Housing Department, said at a briefing that all eight high-rises at Wang Fuk Court appear to be structurally sound with no imminent risk of collapsing.
A preliminary survey has been completed for six of the buildings with surveys for the remaining two – Wang Sun House and Wang Cheong House – expected to be finished Sunday, he said.
Leung said several severely damaged units require structural reinforcement before investigators can safely enter and collect evidence.
Secretary for Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen pledged Sunday that the SAR government will ensure free temporary rehousing for all residents displaced by the fire until they can return to their rebuilt homes.
To minimize the risk of another similar fire, the authorities have suspended 30 private building projects on safety concerns, including 28 that were managed by Prestige Construction and Engineering Co Ltd, the contractor at Wang Fuk Court, a spokesman for the Building Department said.
Near the fire-ravaged hulk of Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, the number of floral tributes continued to mount as a silent stream of mourners throughout the afternoon stretched for nearly 2 kilometers along the Lam Tsuen River, adjacent to the site of the blaze.
Residents join the queue to pay their respects and honor the victims of the deadly Wang Fuk Court blaze in Tai Po on Nov 30, 2025. PHOTO: CHINA DAILY
The wait time to offer condolences was at least two hours after 4 pm, with over 5,000 people lining up.
Amid the collective mourning, Hong Kong residents have been warned of scammers trying to steal personal information, including bank account and credit data, by posing as organizers of relief efforts for the Tai Po fire victims.
The police shared a copy of an alleged fake registration form on their social media account, urging members of the public to be on guard.
They have also set up a dedicated casualty inquiry unit, with its hotline run by over 50 officers around the clock, to help affected residents search for still unreachable family members.