Investigation will begin as Tai Po’s blaze killing at least 128 extinguished

The deadly fire at Tai Po Wang Fuk Court was put out at 10:18 am today, after 43 hours of firefighting, said Tang Ping-keung, Secretary for Security.

Tang said at least 128 people were killed and 79 people were injured. 108 victims were found dead at the scene, with four more dying after being taken to the hospital, and 16 severely burned bodies recovered inside the building. 

“Firefighting and rescue operations have now been completed. However the interior temperature remains at 200°C and teams are cooling the structure for further inspection,” he said.

A total of 30 victims have been identified, about half from inside their flats. More than 40 other bodies require forensic confirmation, and 89 sets of remains are still unidentified. Authorities have received 467 missing-person reports, with many duplicated submissions. Of those, 39 were confirmed dead, 30 injured, and 110 were located safe.

Tang said the fire is believed to have started in Wang Cheung House, where highly flammable foam panels at height allowed flames to shoot upward and spread rapidly. 

“Burning fragments carried embers to higher floors, windows shattered in extreme heat and bamboo scaffolding ignited, causing additional floors to burn,” he said.

Tang added the interior temperatures reached about 500 degrees Celsius, calling a halt to firefighters from advancing.

The Security Secretary said the police have arrested three senior staff members of renovation company Prestige Construction & Engineering Co Limited for alleged manslaughter, seizing 14 computers and documents in the operation. A full investigation will be conducted and is expected to take three to four weeks. 

A fire alarm test was conducted yesterday. Despite the alarms being on, they were silent, said Andy Yeung Yan-kin, director of the Fire Service Department, adding that a follow-up investigation will be carried.

Regarding online claims about firefighting tactics, that helicopters, high-reach ladders and drones should be adopted, Yeung said they are not deployable. 

He said helicopters would worsen the situation and roads are not wide enough to deploy 100-metre ladders. He added the department has not started using drones to put out fires in operations yet.

The firefighting operation deployed 2,310 firefighters, 391 fire appliances and 158 ambulances. 12 firefighters were injured, including one in intensive care, and one officer died, Yeung said.

Andrew Kan Kai-yan, acting commissioner of police, said more than 1,000 officers were deployed. The Disaster Victim Identification unit is working to confirm identities quickly. 

Police will investigate all seven blocks once temperatures fall below hazardous levels, with buildings to be reopened in phases, he said.