Investigation Underway After Deadly Hong Kong Tower Fire

Investigation Underway After Deadly Hong Kong Tower Fire
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Hong Kong is grieving following a high-rise fire that killed 83 people, including a firefighter and two Indonesian domestic workers, The Guardian reported. Another 79 victims are being treated in hospitals as authorities continue to work through missing persons reports. Officials have yet to provide an updated count of the missing, previously estimated to exceed 250 earlier on Thursday.

The fire occurred in a residential estate made up of eight 32-storey towers with about 2,000 apartments occupied by roughly 4,800 residents. The buildings were undergoing renovation when the incident began, complicating emergency response efforts.

Deputy Fire Services Director Derek Chan said firefighters had managed to reach the final areas affected by the blaze, with full extinguishment expected by Friday morning. Chan said progress was slowed by intense heat, falling debris and scaffolding from higher floors, and low visibility due to thick smoke.

Police arrested three men aged between 52 and 68 on suspicion of manslaughter. Authorities say the two company directors and an engineering consultant are linked to the renovation works and may have been “grossly negligent,” contributing to the rapid spread of the fire. Officers later searched the construction company’s offices, seizing documents as part of the investigation.