Hong Kong Tower Inferno Leaves At Least 13 Dead and Hundreds Displaced

A massive fire tore through several residential towers in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district, leaving a high death toll and overwhelming the city’s emergency services. Initial reports from local media spoke of at least four fatalities and three injured, but fire officials later confirmed that 13 people had died after flames engulfed seven high-rise buildings in a densely populated housing complex. Nine victims were found dead at the scene, and four more succumbed to their injuries in hospital. At least 15 residents were injured, two of them in critical condition, and roughly 700 people had to be evacuated to temporary shelters.

Real hell in Hong Kong: fire engulfs massive high-rises

Several residential blocks housing thousands of people are burning at once, trapping residents in a blazing inferno. The fire is spreading extremely fast.

At least four deaths have been reported so far, including a… pic.twitter.com/Jpp3rBaRLq

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) November 26, 2025

The blaze erupted on Wednesday afternoon in the northeastern part of the New Territories and intensified rapidly as it moved across bamboo scaffolding that had been installed for ongoing renovation work. Bamboo scaffolding is widely used in Hong Kong, but the material burns more easily than metal structures common in other major cities. Fire officials said the flames, helped by windy conditions, spread from the external scaffolding into the residential blocks and then jumped to other nearby towers within the same complex, which consists of eight buildings and almost 2,000 apartments.

Footage from the scene showed entire facades lit up, with bright flames bursting from windows and thick black smoke towering above the district. Firefighters worked for hours as the situation worsened, eventually upgrading the alarm to level 5, the highest category, after nightfall. According to the Fire Services Department, conditions inside the buildings were extremely difficult. The temperature was very high, and falling debris and collapsing scaffolding made entering upper floors dangerous. Many residents remained trapped as crews attempted to force their way inside.

Authorities dispatched 128 fire trucks and 57 ambulances, deploying hundreds of firefighters, police officers and paramedics. One firefighter died in the operation, and another was treated for heat exhaustion. Local district councillor Lo Hiu fung told television reporters that a significant number of those trapped were elderly residents. District authorities opened emergency shelters for people left without homes.

Residents described the fear and helplessness as they watched the fire spread across the towers. One man, giving only the surname Wu, told local media that he had already stopped thinking about his belongings because the sight of the flames made the loss feel inevitable.

Tai Po, a suburban area close to the border with Shenzhen, is known for its large residential estates. The government announced earlier this year that bamboo scaffolding would gradually be phased out from public projects following safety concerns, though it remains common at private sites. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, and authorities say more information will follow as investigations continue.