Geline Salac

How the Hong Kong fire shattered the family behind a viral photo

Article (news)

HKFIRE REUTERSPHOTO

Reuters Wires

<p>When a catastrophic fire raged through a series of residential buildings in a northern district of Hong Kong last Wednesday (November 26), 71-year-old retiree Mr. Wong rushed home shellshocked, calling out to his wife who was trapped within.</p><p>A Reuters photograph captured Wong with his arms raised in anguish as an orange inferno engulfed multiple high-rise residential buildings, an image that went viral worldwide.</p><p>The disaster at the Wang Fuk Court complex in Tai Po district is Hong Kong&#x27;s deadliest fire in more than 75 years, leaving at least 146 people dead and scores more missing.</p><p>Wong&#x27;s son, who declined to give his full name to protect his family&#x27;s privacy, said his father &quot;couldn&#x27;t accept what happened&quot; on that first day, knowing he had lost not just a home but a family member when he saw the situation.</p><p>Mr. and Mrs. Wong had raised their son and daughter in a 450-square-foot, two-bedroom flat in Wang Fuk Court.</p><p>Wong senior worked as a foreman in building maintenance before retiring, and as a certified electrician and plumber, he had long opposed the renovation and its safety risks, with green mesh wrapped around the buildings as part of a bamboo scaffolding system blamed by some for helping spread the flames.</p><p>Unlike others, he had ripped out foam boards covering their windows and replaced them with fire-retardant plastic film.</p><p>He had also sprayed water onto the mesh outside their flat to keep it moist, but his son said the building renovation &quot;had weighed on him&quot; over the years and despite knowing the risks, he &quot;couldn&#x27;t change what happened.&quot;</p><p>That night, Wong sat for hours watching the flames consume the buildings, at one point holding his phone and shouting about firefighters.</p><p>His wife had made her final phone call to him around 3:30pm, telling him she was uncomfortable inside, a conversation lasting about one minute before &quot;she disappeared,&quot; according to their son.</p><p>Since the disaster, Wong has gone to stay with his daughter, granddaughter and son-in-law in a home within walking distance.</p><p>He and his wife used to take turns picking up the girl from primary school, and at the beginning of their courtship, Wong had been a motocross racer who swept his future wife off her feet by driving her around Hong Kong on his souped-up Yamaha before selling the bike to purchase their family home.</p><p>After they married, Mrs. Wong stayed home to raise the family and was careful with money, overseeing the family finances.</p><p>As the only son, Wong&#x27;s child says he has had to remain stoic, shouldering family responsibilities including fielding calls, dealing with paperwork and checking daily on bodies found in the buildings.</p><p>Wong&#x27;s son said his father cries &quot;quite badly&quot; when they talk about his mother, but he&#x27;s trying to understand his future and adapt to the new situation.</p><p>Both father and son have given each other space while working to rebuild their relationship, as the son explained that at family dinners, he and his mother &quot;talk most&quot; while his father &quot;maybe just adds one or two&quot; words, meaning he now needs to &quot;restart the conversation with my father.&quot;</p><p>Four days after the fire, mourners left flowers as tributes to victims while hundreds of police officers in hazmat suits continued searching the charred buildings with blown-out windows and melted mesh.</p><p>The son pointed up at his childhood home from a park opposite, still waiting for updates about his mother as the family begins their long path toward healing.</p><p>(Production: Nicoco Chan, Tyrone Siu, Joyce Zhou)</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/va39jfVPGvw?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cfMfE-SbcaA?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/r7hgeIGN1fo?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>When a catastrophic fire raged through a series of residential buildings in a northern district of Hong Kong last Wednesday (November 26), 71-year-old retiree Mr. Wong rushed home shellshocked, calling out to his wife who was trapped within.</p>

When a catastrophic fire raged through a series of residential buildings in a northern district of Hong Kong last Wednesday (November 26), 71-year-old retiree Mr. Wong rushed home shellshocked, calling out to his wife who was trapped within.

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PERSONAL: How the Hong Kong fire shattered the family behind a viral photo

Reuters

Published Dec 03, 2025 11:30 AM PHT

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hong kong

hong kong fire

tai po district

Wang Fuk Court

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