A very serious fire has happened in Hong Kong. It is the deadliest fire there in more than seventy years. The fire burned through a public housing area in the Tai Po district. At least 94 people have died, and the community is very sad.
The fire started on Wednesday afternoon at the Wang Fuk Court buildings. It burned for three days and spread to seven of the eight tall towers. This made the work for firefighters very difficult and dangerous.
The fire began just before 3 p.m. and spread extremely quickly. Experts who looked at videos saw that the fire moved from one building to another in only six minutes. The government says the reason it spread so fast is because of bamboo scaffolding and foam materials used for building repairs. These materials can catch fire easily. Firefighters arrived only six minutes after the emergency call, but the fire was already very big.
The rescue work was very hard because of the great heat, thick smoke, and falling pieces of the buildings. One person was saved from the 16th floor a whole day after the fire started. As well as the 94 people who died, 76 people were hurt. Hundreds of people are still missing.
The government leader has promised a full investigation. The police have arrested three building company managers. Many people are angry and say the government is only blaming the building materials. They think the real problem is with the safety rules for tall buildings where many people live close together. This tragedy has made people ask important questions about who is responsible for keeping people safe.