Hong Kong leader says 'we must uncover the truth' after deadly apartment fire, calls for building reform

Hong Kong’s main enforcement said helium volition found an autarkic committee to analyse and betterment the city’s building-work strategy arsenic portion of efforts to forestall aboriginal disasters pursuing the deadly Tai Po fire. 

John Lee told reporters astatine a quality league Tuesday that reforms are urgently needed aft astatine slightest 159 radical were killed erstwhile a occurrence engulfed respective high-rise residential towers successful Hong Kong’s Tai Po territory successful precocious November. 

"We volition flooded the obstacles of vested interests and prosecute accountability, careless of who helium oregon she is. We indispensable uncover the truth, guarantee that justness is served, fto the deceased remainder successful peace, and supply comfortableness to the living," said Lee.

The Hong Kong person shared that 13 radical were arrested by constabulary for suspected manslaughter and astir a twelve others were arrested by the Independent Commission Against Corruption for "corrupt practices which subordinate to this tragedy."

TIMELINE OF THE PALISADES FIRE MANHUNT: FROM ALLEGED MIDNIGHT SPARK TO FLORIDA ARREST

Flowers are laid successful beforehand of the Wang Fuk Court flat blocks aft the deadly November 26 occurrence successful Hong Kong’s Tai Po territory connected Dec. 3, 2025. (Philip Fong/AFP via Getty Images)

Hong Kong’s Police Department said Wednesday they person completed searches of each 7 fire-damaged buildings and identified 140 of the 159 victims.

Hong Kong’s Fire Services Department said it received reports of a blaze breaking retired astatine the Wang Fuk Court successful Tai Po, a territory successful the bluish New Territories, astir 2:50 p.m. connected Nov. 26.

The occurrence was upgraded to a No. 5 alarm, the astir terrible standing successful Hong Kong, by 6:22 p.m.

Photos from the country showed the bamboo scaffolding of the towers engulfed successful flames and thick, acheronian fume pouring retired of aggregate floors.

FIRE TEARS THROUGH HONG KONG HOUSING COMPLEX, KILLING AT LEAST 13 WITH OTHERS REPORTED TRAPPED

Thick fume and flames emergence arsenic a large occurrence engulfs respective flat blocks astatine the Wang Fuk Court property successful Hong Kong’s Tai Po territory connected Nov. 26, 2025. (Yan Zhao/AFP via Getty Images)

Chan Kwong-tak, an 83-year-old retiree surviving successful the community, told The South China Morning Post that the occurrence alarms failed to spell disconnected erstwhile the blaze broke out, adjacent though the buildings were equipped with them.

"If idiosyncratic was sleeping then, they were done," helium said.

Lee told reporters the authorities had "identified failures successful antithetic stages," adding that officials indispensable enactment decisively to adjacent loopholes and clasp those liable to account.

"The bottlenecks volition beryllium addressed. And we volition betterment the full gathering renovation strategy to guarantee that specified things volition not hap again," helium said.

People connection flowers for the victims extracurricular Wang Fuk Court pursuing the deadly Nov. 26 occurrence successful Hong Kong’s Tai Po territory connected Nov. 30, 2025.

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Hong Kong’s Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho said past week that the Buildings Department volition reappraisal the information rules governing scaffolding and protective nets aft the fatal Wang Fuk Court fire.

Hon-ho noted that the occurrence is suspected to person been caused by manufacture non-compliance alternatively than from bamboo scaffolding itself, though bamboo structures are little fire-resistant than metallic ones.