Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 04:13am on 27 Nov 2025,Thursday International
At least 44 people died in a major fire engulfing public housing apartments in Hong Kong's Tai Po district, with 279 unaccounted for. Three construction company executives were arrested on manslaughter suspicion, linked to flammable materials like mesh and plastic sheets enabling rapid fire spread. Over 800 firefighters battled the level-five blaze at Wang Fuk Court for 18+ hours. Resident Kiko Ma revealed windows were sealed during renovations, fire alarms turned off, and workers used fire escapes. "This was preventable," she stated. Chief Executive John Lee suspended legislative campaigning ahead of December 7 polls. Around 900 residents evacuated to shelters. US, UK, and Taiwan sent condolences.
