Residents of the fire-hit Wang Fuk Court housing estate in Tai Po have begun returning home to collect personal belongings for the first time since the deadly tragedy in November. A photo (left) provided by Wang Fuk Court resident surnamed Leung shows the severely burned interiors of his flat. Leung shows reporters the wedding rings he found inside his fire-ravaged flat in Wang Sun House on April 20, 2026. Photo: Supplied & Kyle Lam/HKFP. Around 270 people returned to their flats in Wang Sun House , one of the seven blocks engulfed by the blaze, on Monday. Residents of each flat were given three hours under strict government supervision. They were the first batch of around 6,000 residents that the government said had registered to return to their homes.
Residents were given helmets and protective gloves before entering Wang Sun House. With no electricity running, they had to climb the stairs.
Some of the residents already knew that their homes were severely burned and were left in ruins after they received photos of the flats from the government.
“I have seen photos of my flat burned to ashes, so I have no hope,” a resident who gave only his surname, Leung, told HKFP in Cantonese. “I only wanted to collect things of commemorative value, such as wedding rings.”
- This photo provided by Wang Fuk Court resident surnamed Leung on April 20, 2026, shows the interior of his flat in Wang Sun House after the deadly fire in November. Photo: Supplied. -
- This photo provided by Wang Fuk Court resident surnamed Leung on April 20, 2026, shows the interior of his flat in Wang Sun House after the deadly fire in November 2025. Photo: Supplied. -
- This photo provided by Wang Fuk Court resident surnamed Leung on April 20, 2026, shows the interior of his flat in Wang Sun House after the deadly fire in November 2025. Photo: Supplied. -
- This photo provided by Wang Fuk Court resident surnamed Leung on April 20, 2026, shows the interior of his flat in Wang Sun House after the deadly fire in November 2025. Photo: Supplied. -
- This photo provided by Wang Fuk Court resident surnamed Leung on April 20, 2026, shows the interior of his flat in Wang Sun House after the deadly fire in November 2025. Photo: Supplied. -
- This photo provided by Wang Fuk Court resident surnamed Leung on April 20, 2026, shows the interior of his flat in Wang Sun House after the deadly fire in November 2025. Photo: Supplied. -
- Wang Fuk Court resident surnamed Leung shows reporters the wedding rings he salvaged from his fire-hit flat in Wang Sun House on April 20, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. - Leung was lucky to retrieve the rings. He provided HKFP with photos of his flat, showing the floor covered in debris and some items burned beyond recognition. The metal gate of his flat was also dismantled.
Others were less fortunate. Another resident, who declined to give his name due to privacy concerns, said his home was destroyed.
“There is nothing to go back to. We took a look, paid respect, and left,” he told reporters after visiting his flat.
A female resident surnamed Tai told reporters: “My home has nothing left, I only want to go up there and say goodbye.
“I am not in the mood to speak. I can only put on a wry smile,” she added.
‘Someone following’
Some, like 50-year-old Steven Chong, were able to retrieve valuable items as their homes escaped the flames. Chong found the computer storing his family photos and a religious painting he bought in Tibet, which he had brought with him when he moved house twice.
“Perhaps [the painting] has protected my home from the blaze,” he told reporters. Residents collecting their belongings from Wang Sun House, Wang Fuk Court on April 20, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. He used the time at the flat to remember his cat, who died in the fire. “I went to the spot where he liked to sleep and called him twice, telling him to reincarnate,” he said.
Chong said the three-hour time slot was “enough” for him to collect belongings, but said it may not be so for residents whose homes were damaged in the blaze.
The government said that all residents would be accompanied by police or Civil Aid Service personnel, citing the need to protect property in the building.
“At every step, there’s someone following,” a woman surnamed Chow said in Cantonese, calling the government’s arrangement “OK.”
Chow, a relative of a Wang Sun House resident, said it was fortunate that they found an album containing old family photos, but they may apply for a second trip as they could not move their safe this time.
Discontent
But some residents expressed discontent over the government’s arrangement. A man surnamed Lee is scheduled to return to his flat at Wang Yan House on Thursday. A resident in Wang Sun House, Wang Fuk Court, on April 20, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. He went to Wang Fuk Court on Monday, hoping to become familiar with the process, but officers denied him entry to a nearby community hall where residents checked in before going up the building.
“I am going back to my home. But it was like I had to beg for it. How can this be right?” he told reporters in Cantonese.
“It is my place. Don’t I have the right to stay there and pack my belongings?” he said, criticising the three-hour limit.
“I lived there for over three decades… There’s no way that I don’t go back, I can’t let it go,” he added.