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13 Arrested For Manslaughter Over Hong Kong Fire, Police Say

Tung told a news conference those arrested were aged between 40 and 77.


Thick smoke and flames rise as a major fire engulfs several apartment blocks at the Wang Fuk Court residential estate in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district on November 26, 2025. (Photo by Yan ZHAO / AFP)

 

Hong Kong police said on Monday they had arrested a total of 13 people for manslaughter over a deadly fire that ripped through an apartment complex last week, killing at least 146.

Chan Tung, director of crime and security of the Hong Kong Police Force, said they “have immediately begun comprehensive investigation along the lines of manslaughter”, leading to the arrests of “a total of 13 people, including 12 men and one woman”.

Tung told a news conference those arrested were aged between 40 and 77.

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Officials also announced that some of the exterior netting used on scaffolding at the housing estate did not meet fire-resistance standards.

Firefighters spray water on flames as a major fire engulfs several apartment blocks at the Wang Fuk Court residential estate in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district on November 26, 2025. A huge fire ripped through several high-rise blocks in a Hong Kong residential estate on November 26, killing at least 13 people, with media reporting that some residents were trapped inside. (Photo by AFP)

“Samples collected from seven locations across high, middle and low floors in four buildings… did not meet the fire resistance test standards,” the city’s chief secretary Eric Chan told reporters.