Deadly Hong Kong fire survivors return to charred homes, officials say rebuilding 'not feasible'
Months after a deadly fire in Hong Kong city set ablaze the residential Wang Chuk complex, the survivors return to their homes for the first time.
Survivors visit scorched homes after five months
Five months after Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in a decade, residents of Wan Sun House go back to retrieve their belongings on Monday (Apr 20). Approximately 6,000 survivors will be returning to their apartments, with about 270 people scheduled for the first day. Residents will do so in batches, a process the authorities hope to complete by early May, as reported by news outlet Hong Kong Free Press.
Three-hour slots given to retrieve belongings
Survivors will be designated three-hour slots to return and collect their belongings. Earlier, the authorities had said that they would only be able to enter their homes once. However, on Sunday (Apr 19), Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration, Warner Cheuk Wing Hing, said that survivors will be allowed to enter more than once within the three-hour slot to make it more convenient.
Flames left houses charred
Images released by officials show collapsed ceilings and walls of some flats, while some are charred black and the interiors filled with debris. Damaged areas of the complex have been sealed off as “danger zones” while reinforcement work has been carried out where the building structure was compromised, according to news outlet The Japan Times.
Victims leave building with remnant belongings
Steve Choung, 50, told reporters he used the time to bid farewell to his cat, which died in the fire. He retrieved a computer loaded with family photos from his flat. Choung was amongst the former residents who returned to the flats on Monday, carrying objects such as paintings, computers and bicycles as they left the building, as reported by news agency The Japan Times.
Authorities advise caution
Officials advised residents to prepare mentally, and the fire department issued a warning that more than 920 homes had been damaged and some completely destroyed. Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk said in an interview with RTHK ( Radio Television Hong Kong) that over 1,400 people who registered for the return are 65 or older. Residents are required to wear face masks, hard hats and gloves before entering their apartments.
Seven towers gutted in deadly fire
In November 2025, Hong Kong’s suburban district of Tai Po saw one of the city’s deadliest fires, setting ablaze seven out of eight blocks of the Wang Fuk Court complex. The incident reportedly claimed 168 lives. This image shows the residential complex five months after the fire.
Rebuilding residential complex 'not feasible'
Hong Kong officials have offered to buy the apartments back around the pre-fire market price despite the damage but said that rebuilding the complex on the same site was “not feasible”.
Michael Wong, the city’s Deputy Financial Secretary, said the residential homes will not be redeveloped on the fire site; it could be transformed into a park or community facilities instead.
The government estimated that buying back the rights of roughly 1,700 units would cost around 6.8 billion Hong Kong dollars (USD 870 million), reported NBC News.
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