Hong Kong blaze kills 55: K-Pop stars steps up with donations for victims

Chinese-speaking K-pop stars expressed grief and mobilized support following Wednesday's catastrophic apartment fire at Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong's Tai Po district, which claimed at least 55 lives and left 279 people missing. Yuqi, the Chinese member of girl group (G)I-DLE, posted on her social media in Chinese on November 27, writing "I hope everyone is safe," according to Yonhap News. GOT7's Hong Kong-born member Jackson shared emergency shelter locations on his social media, urging followers to "share this post" and help ensure "all people and animals in need can receive proper relief".​

The bamboo scaffolding that turned a fire into an inferno

The blaze, which erupted at 2:52 PM local time on Wednesday, spread with terrifying speed across the 31-story residential complex wrapped in bamboo scaffolding and green mesh netting for renovation work. Fire engineering experts, including Professor Rania Awaad Or from the University of Queensland, confirmed that the bamboo scaffolding created a vertical pathway that allowed flames to race up the building's exterior, compromising fire containment systems. Senior police superintendent Eileen Chung revealed that highly combustible Styrofoam boards installed in elevator windows violated fire safety regulations, further accelerating the disaster. Three individuals, including construction company directors and an engineering consultant, were arrested on manslaughter charges amid allegations of gross negligence.​

When tradition becomes tragedy

Bamboo scaffolding has defined Hong Kong's skyline for centuries, prized for being lightweight, fast-growing, and remarkably strong, but the city remains one of the last major urban centers still using it in modern construction. Hong Kong's development bureau had been attempting to phase out bamboo scaffolding since March due to what spokesperson Terence Lam called "intrinsic weaknesses such as variability in mechanical properties, deterioration over time, and high combustibility". The Wang Fuk Court fire marks Hong Kong's deadliest blaze in over a century, surpassing even the 1918 Happy Valley Racecourse tragedy that killed over 600 people. Among the 55 confirmed dead was 37-year-old firefighter Ho Wai-ho, a nine-year veteran who lost contact with his team while battling the ground-floor inferno and was later found with severe burn injuries.

K-pop community opens wallets for relief

Boy group RIIZE announced via Weibo that they donated 250,000 Hong Kong dollars (approximately INR 27.3 lakh) to the Hong Kong Red Cross Society in the name of the group and their fandom BRIIZE, stating "we felt extremely heavy-hearted upon hearing the grievous news". Their agency SM Entertainment separately contributed 1 million HKD (approximately INR 1.09 crore) to fire relief efforts. Meanwhile, Tai Po residents formed human chains throughout Wednesday night to deliver bottled water, food, and clothing to evacuees, with social media users praising the mobilization as "the spirit of Hongkongers".