Hong Kong’s CEO said he will set up an independent commission to investigate and reform the city’s construction system as part of efforts to prevent future disasters following the deadly Tai Po fire.
John Lee told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday that reforms are urgently needed after at least 159 people were killed when a fire engulfed several high-rise residential towers in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district in late November.
“We will overcome the obstacles of vested interests and pursue accountability no matter who he or she is. We must expose the truth, ensure that justice is served, let the deceased rest in peace and provide comfort to the living,” Lee said.
The Hong Kong leader said 13 people have been arrested by police for suspected manslaughter and about a dozen others have been arrested by the Independent Commission Against Corruption for “corrupt practices related to this tragedy.”
TIMELINE OF THE PALISADES FIREMAN HUNT: FROM ALLEGED MIDNIGHT SPARK TO ARREST IN FLORIDA
Flowers are laid in front of the Wang Fuk Court apartment buildings after the deadly November 26 fire in Hong Kong’s Tai Po area on December 3, 2025. (Philip Fong/AFP via Getty Images)
Hong Kong Police said Wednesday they searched all seven fire-damaged buildings and identified 140 of the 159 victims.
The Hong Kong Fire Brigade said it received reports of a fire breaking out in the Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, a district in the northern New Territories, on November 26 at around 2.50pm.
The fire was upgraded to alarm No. 5, the most severe classification in Hong Kong, at 6:22 p.m
Photos from the scene showed the towers’ bamboo scaffoldings engulfed in flames and thick, dark smoke pouring from several floors.
FIRE REACHES THROUGH HOUSING COMPLEX IN HONG KONG, LEAVING AT LEAST 13, OTHERS TRAPPED
Thick smoke and flames rise as a large fire engulfs several apartment buildings in the Wang Fuk Court estate in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district on November 26, 2025. (Yan Zhao/AFP via Getty Images)
Chan Kwong-tak, an 83-year-old retiree living in the community, told The South China Morning Post that the fire alarms did not go off when the fire broke out, even though the buildings were equipped with them.
“If anyone was asleep then, it was done,” he said.
Lee told reporters that the government had “identified failures at various stages,” adding that officials must act decisively to close loopholes and hold those responsible to account.
“The bottlenecks will be addressed. And we will reform the entire building renovation system to ensure that such things do not happen again,” he said.
People offer flowers for the victims outside Wang Fuk Court after the deadly November 26 fire in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district on November 30, 2025.
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Hong Kong Development Minister Bernadette Linn Hon-ho said last week that the Buildings Department will review safety rules for scaffolding and protective nets after the fatal fire in Wang Fuk Court.
Hon-ho noted that the fire was likely caused by non-compliance by the industry and not by the bamboo scaffolding itself, although bamboo structures are less fire-resistant than metal structures.
