On the afternoon of November 26th, a fire broke out in Block 8 of Wang Fuk Court, a public housing estate in Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong. The 31-story building, which is over 40 years old, was equipped with bamboo scaffolding for external wall maintenance and is suspected to have been ignited by a cigarette butt.
This is the deadliest fire in Hong Kong in decades. 83 lives were lost, and the victims include one firefighter. More than 900 residents were forced to evacuate to temporary shelters. Behind each casualty figure is a shattered family. May the deceased rest in peace, and we extend our highest respect to the fallen firefighter, thanking him for safeguarding others' safety with his life.
As of Thursday afternoon, the number of open flames has significantly decreased, but a large amount of smoke continues to emanate from the building. Chan Hing-yung, Deputy Director of the Hong Kong Fire Services Department, stated earlier that fire-fighting and search-and-rescue teams have been conducting operations simultaneously from the lower floors upwards and have successfully found survivors on several floors.
The Hong Kong government has dispatched over 120 fire engines, more than 50 ambulances, and over 700 firefighters and paramedics to participate in the rescue. Their fearless march towards danger is the warmest light in the darkness, and we express our sincere gratitude to every rescuer.
We hope the subsequent post-disaster relief work will proceed smoothly, and we also hope such tragedies will never recur. May everyone live safely in a secure environment.
