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Hong Kong Leader Apologizes for Deadly Fire That Killed 168
· Confirmed
In Short: Hong Kong's Chief Executive John Lee apologized for a fire that killed 168 people and displaced thousands at the Wang Fuk Court residential complex.
At a press conference on Thursday, Hong Kong's Chief Executive John Lee apologized for the fire that killed 168 people and left thousands homeless at the Wang Fuk Court residential complex in Tai Po.
The independent committee's report, released at the conference, found that the fire was caused by misconduct by the private sector and decades of failure by government bodies.
Lee said he was 'deeply sorrowful' and apologized on behalf of the government to the victims and the city's residents.
The report, which was submitted to the government last week and partially redacted, found that the fire was most likely caused by a 'glowing source, likely a cigarette' which ignited 'paper materials' at the apartment complex, which was undergoing extensive renovation.
The committee said the main contractor and consultant for the renovation, as well as several individuals associated with the project, deserved 'the most severe criticisms' for the fire.
The report also found that the Housing Bureau’s independent checking unit, the Buildings Department, the Fire Services Department, and the Labor Department had deficiencies in their supervision work.
The tragedy provoked widespread public grief and anger and was widely seen as the first major test for the Hong Kong government since Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law in 2020.
Lee announced the resignation of Hong Kong’s Housing Secretary Winnie Ho, the first official to step down over the inferno.
The government will now head a steering committee to oversee reforms advocated in the report, which will include laws to criminalise bid-rigging across the construction industry with fines of up to HK$10 million and 10 years’ imprisonment.
Lee said implementing the reforms, 'rather than personal matters,' was the goal.
The fire at Wang Fuk Court, a high-rise housing estate in the suburban district of Tai Po, swiftly engulfed seven of its eight towers, killing 110 women and 58 men ranging in age from 6 months to 98 years old.
The companies had also used fake information in paperwork to 'feign compliance' with regulators' rules, according to the report.
What this adds
Former residents and victims' families have been waiting to see how the government will address who is to blame for the ignored warnings, substandard building materials, and disabled fire alarms that made the fire the world’s deadliest in a residential building since 1980.
The fire deeply shocked and worried Hong Kong, a densely populated city where many residents live in similar ageing high-rises, and sparked calls for accountability.
Authorities have filed charges, including manslaughter, against seven individuals and two companies over their roles in the fire.
The fire was the result of 'decades of failure by the bodies in positions of responsibility in the construction, fire safety engineering, and building management industries, and the Government,' according to the 1,154-page report.
Background
Hong Kong's Chief Executive John Lee apologized for a fire that killed 168 people and displaced thousands at the Wang Fuk Court residential complex.
Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China. Situated on China's southern coast just south of Shenzhen, it consists of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories.
What's confirmed
- The independent committee's report found that the fire was most likely caused by a "glowing source, likely a cigarette" which ignited "paper materials" at the apartment complex, which was undergoing extensive renovation at the time.
- “It has caused pain and sorrow to the affected families and society,” Lee said.
- The blaze in November 2025 ripped through seven 31-storey tower blocks at the Wang Fuk Court residential complex, which was undergoing renovation work in the northern Tai Po district and shrouded in dust netting and scaffolding.
- Sign up now: Get insights on Asia's fast-moving developments The fire at the residential development on Nov 26, 2025, killed 168 people and left some 5,000 homeless.
- Lee said Hong Kong’s Chief Secretary Eric Chan will now head a steering committee to oversee reforms advocated in the report, which will include laws to criminalise bid-rigging across the construction industry with fines of up to HK$10 million (S$1.6 million) and 10 years’ imprisonment.
- HONG KONG – Hong Kong leader John Lee apologised on Oct 29 for the deadly blaze that killed 168 people in the city in November 2025, as he released an independent report that held four government departments partially responsible for a fire that erupted after more than a year of safety complaints.
What's still developing
- The fire deeply shocked and worried Hong Kong, a densely populated city where many residents live in similar ageing high-rises, and sparked calls for accountability.
- This included using scaffolding nets that were not fire retardant and covering up windows with inflammable foam boards for a prolonged period of time.
- Calls for accountability and transparency after the fire were quickly met with warnings from Hong Kong and Chinese officials, who said that “external hostile forces” were trying to re-create the chaos of the 2019 protests, which sometimes turned violent.
- Former residents and victims’ families have been waiting to see how the government will address who is to blame for the ignored warnings, substandard building materials and disabled fire alarms that made the fire the world’s deadliest in a residential building since 1980.
- Had the four departments better recognised the risks and acted accordingly, “there was a real possibility that the misconduct of the private-sector parties and the fire hazards in WF Court could have been rectified or removed before the fire”, it said.
- Authorities have filed charges, including manslaughter, against seven individuals and two companies over their roles in the fire.
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- A grim-faced Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu and seven other top officials bowed their heads in apology on Thursday at the start of a press briefing, the first time his administration had directly expressed regret since the blaze on November 26 at Wang Fuk Court killed 168 people and displaced 1,984 families.
- Four departments “should bear part of the responsibility” for the high casualties, the report said.
- Lee told reporters that authorities had proposed “systematic reforms”, including criminalising bid-rigging and overhauling the complaints system.
- “Administrative responsibility falls short” and political accountability even more so, Yip added.
- “All the secretaries for the departments named should step down,” he said, according to AFP news agency.