A terrible fire has destroyed a public housing area in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district. At least 75 people have died, making it the city's worst fire in more than 70 years. The fire started at Wang Fuk Court on Wednesday afternoon. It spread very quickly to seven of the eight tall buildings there. The buildings were covered in bamboo scaffolding and nets because they were being repaired. The fire burned for over 24 hours. It is now mostly under control, but 76 people are hurt and hundreds were missing at first.
The fire spread across many tall buildings very easily. Investigators say the renovation materials, like plastic sheets and foam, helped the fire grow. The dangerous conditions made rescue work very difficult. Sadly, a 37-year-old firefighter, Ho Wai-ho, died, and ten other firefighters were hurt. Even so, emergency teams used 128 fire engines and nearly 800 people to save 55 residents.
Police quickly arrested three people from the building company, Prestige Construction and Engineering. A senior police officer, Eileen Chung, said the company is suspected of being very careless, which may have caused the fire to spread. The city's leader, John Lee, said all buildings with similar repairs will be checked. They also plan to stop using bamboo scaffolding.
The people who lived there are very sad and angry. Many survivors say the fire alarms did not work when the fire started. One man, Lawrence Lee, said his wife tried to escape but the stairs were full of smoke and dark, so she had to go back inside. These stories make people worry more about the safety of the building repairs.
An anti-corruption group is also investigating. This disaster shows big problems with city safety. For the over 900 survivors now staying in temporary shelters, this fire is a very sad result of what seems to be serious carelessness.