Tai Po Fire: death toll rises to 146, with 79 injured

已複製連結

The death toll from the five-alarm blaze at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po has risen to 146, while 79 people have been reported injured. 

The Housing Department confirmed that all the estate’s buildings show no immediate structural risk, despite the extensive fire damage.

Officers from the Disaster Victims Identification Unit recovered 18 bodies inside the estate today. Remains were found in residential units, stairwells and on rooftops. In total, 54 bodies remain unidentified. 

Authorities say there are also about 100 missing-person cases that cannot yet be fully traced.

Officials added that the rise in the death toll now comes after firefighters re-entered more areas of the estate after the rescue efforts. They noted that while crews had located a number of people who showed no signs of life earlier, their immediate priority at the time had been to rescue those with a chance of survival.

Search and recovery operations today focused on Wang Tai House,  which was among the blocks that faced the shortest evacuation time when the blaze erupted.