A baby’s desperate cries pierced through the roaring flames: ‘Help! Mommy!’ as a lone firefighter hammered at a locked door in Hong Kong’s inferno nightmare. Was this tiny voice the last hope in a blaze claiming 44 lives? Heart-wrenching audio captures the chaos—did rescuers make it in time? Click to uncover the full story of survival, sacrifice, and a city’s darkest day… You won’t believe what happened next.

Death toll at 44, 279 missing as 3 arrested over Hong Kong fire, now burning for 16 hours

What we know so far:

44 people, including a firefighter, have died. Some 279 are still missing

Among those hospitalised, 45 are in serious condition

The eight residential blocks in the estate had been undergoing renovations since July 2024, sheathed in bamboo scaffolding and green mesh

Authorities say the rapid spread of fire was “unusual”, with styrofoam material found in buildings

Government will launch investigations, including criminal probes, to find cause of deadly blaze

Blazes in three of the seven buildings were brought under control by early morning, after nearly 10 hours. Four more are still engulfed in flames

Chief Executive John Lee has described the fire as a “massive catastrophe”

900 people are seeking refuge in community halls

Electioneering activities have been suspended ahead of December 7 election

Lee says he will review if there is a need to postpone the election

Hong Kong authorities have vowed to launch an investigation, including criminal probes, into the deadly fire at a Tai Po estate that killed at least 44 people, and left scores injured, 45 in critical condition. Some 279 residents remain missing and more than 900 have taken refuge at eight temporary shelters.

As of 6am, fire at 4 out of the seven blocks have been brought under control. Full-scale rescue work is ongoing and victims are still being extracted from the buildings. According to a preliminary investigation, officers discovered styrofoam inside the buildings, which authorities said caused the fire to spread more rapidly within the blocks and ignite flats through the corridors.

Three people, including two directors and a consultant of the contractor responsible for the renovation of the buildings, have been arrested for gross negligence. They allegedly used non-compliant materials in scaffolding nets and sealed windows with styrofoam, which led to the incident and caused the fire to spread rapidly.

President Xi Jinping expressed his condolences in a late evening statement and called for “all-out efforts” to minimise casualties and losses. After visiting the injured in hospital early on Thursday, city leader John Lee Ka-chiu vowed to investigate the fire and the scaffolding.

The fire was first reported at 2.51pm on Wednesday and soon grew into an inferno, with huge plumes of dark smoke billowing high into the sky at the scene at Wang Fuk Court, and the flames quickly spreading to seven out of eight blocks in the estate.

Police said they received multiple reports of people trapped in the building where the blaze started, with a man and a woman reportedly unconscious and suffering from burns as being among the first victims.

The blaze was initially classified as a No 1 alarm fire but was quickly raised to No 4 by 3.34pm and then to the top-level No 5 at 6.22pm. In Hong Kong, fires are rated on a scale of one to five, with higher numbers indicating greater severity.

Footage from the scene shows bamboo scaffolding outside several flats of the building engulfed in flames, with burning sections of green scaffolding mesh falling to the ground.

Residents anxiously awaited news of their loved ones Thursday at a temporary shelter as one of Hong Kong’s deadliest fires in decades engulfed a 2,000-unit high-rise complex.

The blaze, still smoldering early Thursday, has claimed at least 44 lives, with authorities reporting hundreds more remain unaccounted for.

It started on Wednesday afternoon, shocking the financial hub with some of the world’s most densely populated and tallest apartment blocks.

Sounds of bamboo scaffolding burning and exploding could be heard at the site. Thick smoke billowed upward from buildings.

“I truly think it’s very scary. I am watching it spread from just one building to three, then four,” Veezy Chan, 25, a resident of the area, said Wednesday. “It’s really terrifying.”

Residents of Wang Fuk Court look at flames rising from buildings in a residential complex in Tai Po District, Hong Kong on Nov. 26, 2025. Photo by Reuters

Since the shelter opened on Wednesday evening, residents kept arriving to report family members they had lost contact with.

Some sat dazed, looking with reddened eyes at cell phone screens as they hoped for news of missing loved ones.

Social workers distributed blankets and pillows to the elderly to help them endure the nighttime chill.

Shirley Chan, a local resident, called the tragedy terribly sad.

“Imagine a home — gone, burnt. Anyone would be heartbroken. I can relate to that; it’s truly heartbreaking. A home, gone in flames,” Chan said. “I can’t even put it into words.”

A 65-year-old surnamed Yuen said his neighborhood is home to many elderly residents who use wheelchairs and walkers, and the fire left him and his wife homeless.

He said that since the apartment complex was undergoing maintenance, many residents kept their windows shut — so they did not hear the fire alarm.

“There is loss of property and loss of life, and even a firefighter has died,” Yuen said.

Some citizens have spontaneously donated supplies and delivered them to shelters set up after the fire.

‘Heart is tingling’

Logan Yeung, a 29-year-old volunteer, said he would remain on-site to provide support until rescue operations concluded.

“My heart is tingling,” he told AFP, adding that he believes construction issues were the cause of the incident.

Deadly fires were once a regular scourge in densely populated Hong Kong, especially in poorer neighborhoods.

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

But residents nearby said they had never anticipated the flames would spread to other buildings with the wind and burn all night long.

Chan said she “watched the fire burn and couldn’t do anything”.

“We also didn’t know what everyone could do,” she said.

City leader John Lee said Thursday that a task force will be set up to investigate the fire and the results will be submitted to the coroner.

The government “needs to provide an explanation to the public,” Chan added.