Husband's message to wife trapped in Hong Kong apartment fire

When his wife said she couldn't escape their burning apartment, Chung quickly reassured her: "don't give up, my dear".

Around 3 p.m. on 26/11, Chung, 45, was at work when he received a frantic call from his wife. She informed him that their building in the Wang Fuk Court apartment complex in Tai Po district, Hong Kong, was on fire, and she and their pet cat could not escape.

Chung rushed home to find the 31-story building ablaze, with dense black smoke billowing into the sky. The fire raged for a full day, destroying 7 buildings, including the one where Chung and his wife lived.

19 hours of fire ravaged the Hong Kong apartment complex. Video: AFP, BBC

Police and firefighters had cordoned off the area, preventing access to the burning buildings. Chung could only stand helplessly outside, watching the rescue efforts and trying to maintain contact with his wife.

Throughout the night of 26/11, Chung went around asking firefighters for updates on the situation inside, but received no answers. He repeatedly called his wife, his emotions a mix of anxiety and fear.

His wife told Chung she might pass out as the smoke grew thicker. In his final message to her, Chung could only encourage her: "don't give up, my dear".

"She must have passed out. I didn't dare call her again", Chung recounted, his eyes red-rimmed.

Chung choked up while being interviewed. Photo: BBC

Hours after their last call, he braced himself for the worst. "If she is gone, she will be with our cat, the one she loved so dearly", he said, breaking into tears.

Chung's family moved to the Wang Cheong building a decade ago. It was the first building to catch fire in the Wang Fuk Court complex. Chung stated that when the blaze erupted, dense smoke quickly engulfed the 23rd floor, where his family lived, preventing his wife from finding an escape route.

The fire resulted in at least 128 deaths, with nearly 300 people still missing. Hope for the missing dwindles as firefighters searched every apartment without finding survivors.

According to the 2021 census, nearly 40% of Wang Fuk Court residents are 65 or older. This raised concerns that many elderly residents were trapped, making it difficult for them to escape quickly.

Fung, 40, who moved into the complex last year with her parents, has yet to find information about her mother. When the fire broke out, she and her father were at work, leaving only her mother at home.

Fung later received a call from a neighbor who said she was hiding in the bathroom with Fung's mother. However, by midnight on 26/11, Fung lost contact with the neighbor. She still hopes her mother will be rescued.