Was A Discarded Cigarette the Spark Behind Hong Kong’s Deadliest Blaze in Decades?
Hong Kong fire tragedy linked to worker smoking near flammable scaffolding.
At least 128 lives were lost in one of Hong Kong’s deadliest fires in decades when a ferocious blaze engulfed Wang Fuk Court, an eight-tower residential complex in Tai Po’s New Territories, on Wednesday afternoon. The intense fire trapped hundreds of residents in their homes, with flames spreading vertically at terrifying speed and turning the building into an inferno within minutes. Emergency services recovered bodies from multiple floors, while dozens more remain hospitalised with severe burns and smoke inhalation.
A viral video circulating widely on social media has raised alarming questions about the fire’s origin, showing construction workers allegedly smoking close to the building’s outer wall shortly before flames erupted. Although authorities have neither confirmed nor denied the footage’s authenticity, the timing has fuelled public speculation that a discarded cigarette butt may have ignited the highly combustible protective netting and insulation materials enveloping the towers during ongoing renovation works.
Preliminary investigations point to the blaze starting in green protective mesh on the lower floors before racing upward, accelerated by dry bamboo scaffolding and foam boards described by Security Secretary Chris Tang as “highly flammable”. The government acknowledged on Friday that falling fragments of burning bamboo helped the fire leap between floors and blocks, turning traditional scaffolding into a deadly conduit for the flames.
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Long a hallmark of Hong Kong’s skyline, bamboo scaffolding has faced mounting criticism after this disaster. Officials announced an urgent push to replace it with metal alternatives across the city, admitting that the centuries-old practice poses unacceptable risks in modern high-rise renovations. The entire Wang Fuk Court complex had been wrapped in bamboo frames and netting since last year as part of a large-scale refurbishment project.
In a swift move, anti-corruption authorities arrested eight individuals on Friday, including scaffolding subcontractors, engineering consultancy directors, and project managers linked to the renovation. As investigators piece together the exact sequence of events, the tragedy has reignited urgent debates over construction safety standards in one of the world’s most densely populated cities.
