“One Cigarette… and an Entire City Changed Forever” — Police Confirm the Spark That Triggered Hong Kong’s Deadliest High-Rise Inferno… but the Shocking Trail of Negligence Runs Much Deeper

Smoking Cigarette Sparked Inferno, Police Confirm

In a significant development, police have now confirmed the likely cause of the devastating blaze. Investigators believe the inferno began after a lit cigarette butt was dropped by a man, which then ignited highly flammable construction netting and scaffolding surrounding the building before spreading uncontrollably.

In connection with the tragedy, Hong Kong Police have since arrested three men, aged between 52 and 68, on suspicion of manslaughter. Authorities are currently holding the suspects for further questioning as they piece together the chain of gross negligence that led to the city’s deadliest fire in decades.

At least 44 people have died and hundreds have been reported missing after a fire raged through a high-rise housing complex in Hong Kong. 

Police said 45 people also remain in critical condition while around 900 have been evacuated to temporary shelters after the city’s deadliest fire in years broke out at apartments in the Tai Po district.

Flames and smoke still engulfed the 32-storey blocks hours after the fire started, as rescuers swarmed the site and residents watched on in horror nearby.

Hong Kong Police have since arrested three men, aged between 52 and 68, on suspicion of manslaughter.

Massive flames took hold on the scaffolding on at least three apartment blocks at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, a district in the northern part of the Chinese financial hub, before spreading to other parts of the buildings.

It later spread to inside the building and then to nearby buildings, likely aided by windy conditions, officials said.

Video from the scene showed at least five buildings close to each other ablaze, with flames coming out of many of the apartments’ windows. Firefighters were aiming water at the intense flames from high up on ladder trucks.

In chilling echoes of the Grenfell tower tragedy, the blaze spread on the outside of the complex and investigators will look into whether material on the exterior walls of high-rise buildings met fire resistance standards.

The fire at three of the buildings was ‘coming under control’ shortly past midnight on Thursday, according to the Fire Services Department.

There are suggestions that the exterior walls were not up to fire resistance standards as the rapid spread of the fire was unusual, authorities said.

‘Police and the Fire Services Department have already set up a dedicated investigation team to investigate’ the fire and its cause, Hong Kong chief executive John Lee said.

Police said they found mesh and protective material on the outside of the buildings that don’t appear to be fireproof, as well as Styrofoam on the building’s windows.

A police spokesperson said: ‘We have reason to believe that those in charge at the company were grossly negligent, which led to this accident and caused the fire to spread uncontrollably, resulting in major casualties.’

The housing complex consisted of eight buildings with almost 2,000 apartments housing about 4,800 residents, including many elderly people. It was built in the 1980s and had recently been undergoing a major renovation.

Fire chiefs said high temperatures at the scene made it difficult for crews to mount rescue operations.

A column of flames and thick smoke rose as the blaze spread quickly on bamboo scaffolding and construction netting that had been set up around the exterior of the buildings.

The blaze was reported mid-afternoon and was upgraded to level 5, the highest level of severity, as night fell.

Fire authorities said they were fighting to get to the towers’ upper floors due to the intense heat, and containing the blaze was getting tougher after nightfall.

Tai Po, which has a population of about 300,000, is a suburban area in Hong Kong in the New Territories, near the border with the mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen.

A resident surnamed Wong, 71, broke down in tears, saying his wife was trapped inside one of the buildings.

More than 800 firefighters have been sent to tackle the blaze and one aged 37 is among the dead.

Ho Wai-ho, a firefighter of nine years, was found collapsed at the scene of the fire before being taken to Prince of Wales Hospital, where he died at 4.41pm local time on Wednesday after sustaining injuries in the blaze.

‘Having been a member of the Fire Services Department for about nine years, Mr Ho’s performance was valiant. I am profoundly grieved at the loss of this dedicated and gallant fireman,’ director of fire services Andy Yeung said.

‘All of our colleagues are deeply saddened by the loss of such a devoted comrade. On behalf of all our colleagues, I have offered the deepest condolences to his family.’

At least one other firefighter is still in hospital.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping expressed condolences to Ho Wai-ho and extended sympathies to the families of the victims, according to state broadcaster CCTV. He also urged efforts to minimize casualties and losses.

Firefighters battled the orange flames into the night as thick black smoke billowed from the towers, which were sheathed in bamboo scaffolding – whose use the government began phasing out in March for safety reasons – and green construction mesh.

The cause of the blaze was not immediately known.

Police said they had received multiple reports of people trapped in the affected buildings.

Harry Cheung, 66, who has lived at Block Two in one of the complexes for more than 40 years, said he heard ‘a very loud noise at around 2.45pm’ (6.45am GMT) and saw a fire erupt in a nearby block.

‘I immediately went back to pack up my things,’ he said.

‘I don’t even know how I feel right now. I’m just thinking about where I’m going to sleep tonight because I probably won’t be able to go back home.’

Some fire services staff have also been injured, while trying to put out the flames that ripped through the 31-storey towers.

People gathered on a nearby overhead walkway, watching in dismay as smoke billowed from the buildings while scores of fire engines and ambulances lined the road below the complex.

The Fire Service Department said it does not yet have a figure for the number of people who may still be inside.

It received reports at 2.51pm (06.51am GMT) that a fire had broken out in Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po.

The fire was upgraded to a No. 4 alarm at 3.34pm before reaching No. 5 at 6.22pm. Strong winds fanned the flames, causing the blaze to spread to seven of the complex’s eight blocks.

Wang Fuk Court is a complex under the government’s subsidised home ownership scheme and has been occupied since 1983.

Several towers have bamboo scaffolding on their exterior.

Hong Kong, one of the most densely populated areas in the world, is one of the last places where bamboo is still widely used for scaffolding in construction.

Bamboo scaffolding is a common sight in Hong Kong at building construction and renovation projects, though the government said earlier this year that it would start phasing it out for public projects because of safety concerns.

Due to the fire, an entire section of the Tai Po road, one of Hong Kong’s two main highways, was closed and buses were diverted.

‘Residents nearby are advised to stay indoors, close their doors and windows, and stay calm,’ the Fire Services Department said.

‘Members of the public are also advised to avoid going to the area affected by the fire.’

By 6.00pm local time, police started knocking on doors at Kwong Fuk Estate, a nearby public housing complex, telling residents of Kwong Lai House and Kwong Yau House to evacuate.

Officers set up a hotline for members of the public to ask about casualties as a result of the blaze.

Four people were hospitalised after a separate fire on the scaffolding of a building in Hong Kong’s central business district last month.

Five people died after a fire broke out in a densely populated residential building in Hong Kong’s bustling Kowloon district in April last year.

Deadly fires were once a regular scourge in Hong Kong, especially in poorer neighbourhoods.

However, safety measures have been ramped up in recent decades and such fires have become much less commonplace.

Mr Lee called an emergency meeting on Wednesday evening.

‘All government departments are fully assisting residents affected by the fire, prioritising the safety and well-being of the public,’ a government statement said.

At least six schools will be closed on Thursday due to the fire and traffic congestion.

It is Hong Kong’s worst fire since 41 people died in a commercial building in the heart of Kowloon in November 1996.

That fire was later found to be caused by welding during internal renovations.

A public inquiry yielded sweeping updates to building standards and fire safety regulations in the city’s high-rise offices, shops and homes.

The government moved to start phasing out the city’s use of its bamboo scaffolding in March, citing safety concerns.

It announced that 50 per cent of public construction works would be required to use metal frames instead.

Wang Fuk Court has been undergoing renovations for a year at a cost of HK$330 million (£32 million), with each unit paying between HK$160,000 and HK$180,000.

Owning a home is a distant dream for many in Hong Kong, one of the world’s most expensive housing markets and where residential rents are hovering around record highs.