• At least 55 people have been killed in a major fire engulfing public housing apartments in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district – and more than 270 are still not accounted for

• Officials on Thursday morning said the fire was under control in four out of seven affected buildings, and they hoped to quell the remaining blazes by the evening

• As the fires subside, questions are now mounting as to how the blaze initially started, and who should be held accountable

• Three construction company executives have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter connected to flammable materials, including mesh and plastic sheets, that may have allowed the fire to spread quickly

• The fire was previously classified a level five blaze, the most serious level in Hong Kong

• “I can smell it in the air”, writes our correspondent this morning, as large plumes of smoke hang over the burning buildings at Wang Fuk Court

Live Reporting

Edited by Gavin Butler, with Koey Lee and Danny Vincent in Hong Kong

1. Death toll from fire rises to 55published at 07:06 GMT

   Breaking

   The death toll from the fire engulfing public housing apartments in Hong Kong has risen to 55, according to the city’s fire department.

   Fifty-one died at the scene and four in hospital, a spokesman said at a news conference. One firefighter has also died.

2. If you’re just joining uspublished at 06:49 GMT

   Image source, Getty Images

   It’s coming up on 07:00 GMT and 15:00 in Hong Kong. It’s also been nearly 24 hours since a major fire engulfed apartment blocks in the city’s Tai Po district.

   Here’s the latest for those of you just joining us:

   • The blaze, which broke out at a public housing complex undergoing renovations, has killed at least 44 people and more than 270 people are still not accounted for
   • Officials said the fire is under control in four out of seven buildings, while others continue to burn
   • Three construction company executives have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and “gross negligence”, authorities say

   • Investigations are ongoing, but police say mesh and plastic sheets found on the buildings’ windows at the buildings may have facilitated the spread of the fire
   • Hundreds of residents have been evacuated to temporary shelters while emergency housing units are being allocated to some

   • Hong Kong has suspended all campaigning ahead of the Legislative Council election on 7 December to prioritise relief efforts
   • Questions are now mounting as to how the blaze started in the first place – and who should be held responsible

3. Mood in city shifts from shock to angerpublished at 06:23 GMT

   Fan Wang
   Live reporter

   The mood in Hong Kong has shifted from shock to anguish, as questions grow regarding who should be held accountable for the blaze.

   Anger has been building on social media, especially after several residents revealed in interviews that they did not hear a fire alarm when the
   fire broke out.

   Reports of their complaints last year over renovation plans have also resurfaced, and are circulating widely online.

   Back then, some residents had taken issue with high renovation fees and questioned whether the materials used
   complied with fire-safety regulations.

   Three people have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, and Hong Kong’s
   leader John Lee has vowed to launch a comprehensive investigation.

4. Questions mount on how blaze started and what fuelled itpublished at 06:02 GMT

   Danny Vincent
   Reporting from Tai Po

   On the ground people are asking questions on how this fire started and why it escalated so quickly.

   It’s been almost a day since the fires broke out. Earlier today, I could still see flames inside the building.

   There are still plumes of smoke rising into the air, but they are thinning as firefighters bring the situation under control.

5. City’s iconic bamboo scaffolding fanned the fire, says safety expertpublished at 05:39 GMT

   Image source, Getty Images

   A fire safety expert believes the large amount of bamboo scaffolding connecting the apartment blocks fanned last night’s fire.

   The blaze was able to penetrate rapidly, causing a large number of deaths and injuries, said Professor Jiang Liming from Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

   Bamboo scaffolding is an iconic sight across Hong Kong and widely used in construction.

   Earlier this year, authorities announced plans to phase out bamboo in favour of sturdier, fire-resistant steel. They cited bamboo combustibility and tendency to deteriorate over time.

   Prof Jiang also noted that the blocks at Wang Fuk Court were “relatively old” – they were built in the 1980s – so “the the glass windows are not that fire resilient”.

   “The modern buildings have double pane glass windows, but for this one they perhaps used just a single pane… [which makes it] very easy to be broken by the flames and the flames can then penetrate through the facade,” he told BBC News.

6. Watch: Firefighters battle blaze of charred buildingspublished at 05:20 GMT

   Here are some scenes from earlier this morning, as officials race against the clock to extinguish flames burning inside the largely blackened high-rises.

7. More than a third of residents are elderlypublished at 05:10 GMT

   Nearly 40% of the 4,600 people who lived in the Wang Fuk Court housing complex are at least 65, or older, according to a 2021 census.

   Some of them have lived in the subsidised public housing estate since it was built in the 1980s.

8. Hong Kong’s deadliest blaze in more than 60 yearspublished at 04:44 GMT

   Image source, Getty Images

   This is Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in at least 63 years, with at least 44 people killed so far and 279 people still unaccounted for.

   It has already matched the toll of the August 1962 inferno in the Sham Shui Po neighbourhood, which killed 44 people and left hundreds more homeless in the city. Around 50lbs (22.7kg) of fireworks stored on the premises had caused the blaze to spread quickly to the upper floors, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.

   In November 1996, a fire at the Garley Building in Kowloon killed 41 people and injured 81 others.

   The deadliest blaze on record happened in 1948 following a ground-floor explosion at a five-storey warehouse containing “dangerous goods”, according to SCMP. It killed 176 people.

9. Renovation materials under scrutinypublished at 04:29 GMT

   As some of the buildings in Wang Fuk Court continue to burn, the materials used in their renovation have come under scrutiny.

   No matter the cause of the fire, proper netting on the buildings’ exterior would have been key to preventing the spread of fire, Jason Poon, chairman of construction NGO Chinat Monitor, told Mandarin news outlet Initium Media.

   Substandard netting could cause fire to spread rapidly, Mr Poon said.

   Another engineer told Initium Media he believes that the vast majority of mesh netting used in construction across Hong Kong are not made of fire-retardant material.

   There are also often cardboard, debris and thinner found on the scaffolding, which along with dry weather could hasten the spread of fire, the engineer said.

   Earlier today, fire officials noted the “unusual” presence of “extremely inflammable” styrofoam boards covering the windows of the Wang Fuk Court apartment blocks.

10. Smell of smoke surrounds burning estatepublished at 03:53 GMT

    Danny Vincent
    Reporting from Tai Po

    Image source, BBC/Danny Vincent

    Hong Kong authorities say the fires in four of the buildings have been brought under control, but large plumes of smoke are still hanging over the residential estate.

    I can smell it in the air. I can also see a number of small fires still burning in the apartment blocks.

    Even more fire engines and an ambulance have arrived this morning to help with rescue efforts.

11. ‘This was preventable’published at 03:33 GMT

    Koh Ewe
    Live reporter

    For more than a year, the windows of Kiko Ma’s apartment in Wang Fuk Court have been sealed as part of renovation works.

    Residents sometimes found cigarette butts near the windows, which they suspect are left behind by construction workers, she tells the BBC.

    “People kept asking what would happen if there was a fire. Everyone was very worried about this,” said Ms Ma. The 33-year-old lives in Canada but visits her Hong Kong apartment several times a year.

    Some fire alarms at Wang Fuk Court have been turned off during renovation, she added, as construction workers regularly used fire escapes to go in and out of the building.

    In the hours since the fire broke out, a group chat made up of residents and homeowners has been flooded with messages from people whose families are still missing.

    “This was preventable. This was not an accident. A lot of people did not do their duties,” Ms Ma says.

12. City suspends campaigning for legislative pollspublished at 03:19 GMT

    Image source, Getty Images

    Hong Kong has suspended all campaigning ahead of the Legislative Council election on 7 December to prioritise relief efforts.

    “The top priority is to put out the fire and rescue trapped residents. The second task is to treat the wounded, the third is to handle the aftermath, and then we’ll undergo a comprehensive investigation,” the city’s chief executive John Lee told reporters at an early morning briefing, according to Radio Television Hong Kong.

    Lee would not be drawn on whether the election could be delayed due to the fire.

    The upcoming election is the second since China made sweeping and controversial changes to Hong Kong’s electoral system, widely seen as part of Beijing’s plan to tighten control over the city.

13. From the scene: Rescue ongoing as buildings continue to burnpublished at 03:01 GMT

    Here are the latest photos we’re getting from Tai Po, where rescue and relief efforts are still ongoing. Some 900 residents have been evacuated to temporary shelters. Hundreds more are still unaccounted for.

    Image source, BBC/Koey Lee

    Image source, Getty Images

    Image source, BBC/Koey Lee

    Image source, Getty Images

14. US and UK send condolencespublished at 02:47 GMT

    Condolences are pouring in from beyond the city.

    The US Consulate General in Hong Kong and Macau said it is “deeply saddened by the tragic fire”.

    “Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, and all those affected by this devastating fire. We extend our heartfelt condolences during this time of profound loss,” it wrote in a statement on X., external

    The British Consulate General said it is standing with the people of Hong Kong “honouring the strength of the community, and all those responding during this difficult time.”

    “At this moment, let us all pray for Hong Kong together,” Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te wrote on X, external, adding that he hoped “the missing can be safely found as soon as possible”.

15. Residents return to the disaster sitepublished at 02:14 GMT

    Koey Lee
    BBC Chinese, Hong Kong

    Image source, Koey Lee/BBC

    It’s morning here in Hong Kong, and residents who spent the night at the homes of friends or relatives are returning to the scene of the fire to assess the damage.

    Community halls have been stocked with relief supplies, providing food and water for displaced residents.

    Hundreds of people have been evacuated from the tower blocks as a result of the fire.

16. ‘I would only be at peace when the fire calmed down’published at 02:00 GMT

    Koey Lee
    BBC News Chinese, Hong Kong

    An 82-year-old woman surnamed Wu, who was sitting on a platform outside Kwong Fuk Estate watching the burning building, told BBC Chinese yesterday that she had been playing mahjong with her friends.

    But suddenly her friends received calls from their husbands, saying there was a fire. They took the lift down to the street. Her friends went to a hotel, but the woman – who has lived here for 42 years – refused to leave.

    “I stayed here to watch what was going on. I told my son I would only be at peace when the fire calmed down.”

17. Firefighters battle the blaze – in picturespublished at 01:24 GMT

    New images are coming through which show firefighters spraying water on the blackened towers as they try to contain the flames.

    Remnants of the bamboo scaffolding and the green mesh that encased some of the buildings are also visible. The materials may have allowed the fire to spread more quickly, officials have said.

    Image source, AFP via Getty Images

    Image source, AFP via Getty Images

    Image source, AFP via Getty Images

18. Schools near blaze suspend classespublished at 01:13 GMT

    Thirteen schools will suspend classes today due to the ongoing firefighting operation affecting traffic, the Hong Kong education bureau has said.

    A spokesman also says educational psychologists have been sent to the temporary shelters nearby to offer appropriate support for affected students.

19. Dawn reveals scale of devastationpublished at 00:35 GMT

    Drone footage shows the scene this morning at the site, where smoke continues to billow from the towers and firefighters battle to try to contain the blaze.

20. If you’re just joining uspublished at 23:56 GMT 26 November

    Image source, Reuters

    It’s approaching 08:00 in Hong Kong (00:00 GMT), and the scale of the tragedy is still emerging after a major fire engulfed apartment blocks in the city’s Tai Po district. If you’re just joining us, here is what we know so far:

    • At least 44 people have died, while 45 people are in a critical condition. A further 279 people are not accounted for
    • Three people have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter – two are directors of a construction firm and one is an engineering consultant

    • While the cause of the fire is still being investigated, police say mesh and plastic sheets were found on windows at the buildings, which were undergoing renovations. Police say these materials may have allowed the fire to spread more quickly
    • This morning, smoke is still billowing from some of the tower blocks – but the fire is under control in four of the eight buildings

    • The fire department expects it to take the entire day to contain the fire
    • Hundreds of residents have been evacuated to temporary shelters and emergency housing units are being allocated to people needing relocation
    • The Hong Kong fire department has classified the blaze as a level five alarm – the most severe. It has been 17 years since a level five fire last hit Hong Kong