A woman died in the Wang Fuk Court fire in Tai Po, Hong Kong, after staying behind to warn her neighbors. The fire has killed 146 people and injured 79.
When evacuation orders came, she knocked on doors along the 17th floor where she lived instead of leaving immediately. She saved four people and one dog.
After warning her neighbors, she went back into her flat. Smoke and flames grew too intense for her to escape. She died in the fire, and her body was found in her home.
Her husband shared what happened on a Tai Po residents’ Facebook group. “She gave her own life to save the lives of four people and a dog,” he wrote. “The principles she upheld throughout her life remained unchanged until her last moment.”
He’s been with her for over 40 years. “She has shared my joys and sorrows, but I couldn’t be there for her when she needed me the most,” he wrote. He blamed himself for not calling her sooner. “If I could have called her a minute earlier and asked her to leave, it might have been a better outcome.”
The husband said he believed she wouldn’t have regretted helping others. The family said her actions matched the principles she lived by all her life. They think she made her decision without hesitation.
People online called her a “true hero” whose “noble actions deserve respect.” “She bravely saved people at the final moment of life and death,” one person wrote. “Although she has left your side, we should be proud of her.”
Another wrote: “Whether in life or death, you have demonstrated the glory of humanity.”
Many sent condolences to the family and thanked her for her bravery.
