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Robots Help Hong Kong Fire Survivors Reclaim Homes
17 Apr
Summary
- Elderly survivors borrow robotic exoskeleton legs for home access.
- A deadly fire in November displaced over 4,000 residents.
- Residents have a limited three-hour window to collect belongings.
Over four months have passed since a catastrophic fire devastated an apartment block in Hong Kong's Tai Po district. On April 20, 2026, former residents began returning to their homes for the first time to retrieve personal belongings. Fanny Mok, 59, is among those utilizing borrowed robotic exoskeleton legs to access her 13th-floor apartment after living there for three decades. This technology assists residents who face physical challenges, such as knee pain and shortness of breath, making stair climbing difficult.
The inferno, which occurred in late November, resulted in 168 fatalities and displaced over 4,000 individuals. Many of the affected residents, particularly the elderly, are now residing in temporary accommodations. The Wang Fuk Court complex, built in the 1980s, housed approximately 4,600 people, with over a third being aged 65 or older. Returning residents are granted a specific three-hour window to collect their possessions, a timeframe many find insufficient for decades of accumulated items.
An NGO called the AidVengers Federation is facilitating the use of these exoskeletons, manufactured by Hypershell. Participants must undergo training and pass a test to operate the devices, with a 70% pass rate reported. Former residents like Betty Ho, 61, hope to recover cherished items such as cash and family photo albums, reflecting the emotional difficulty of letting go of possessions accumulated over a lifetime. The return period is scheduled from April 20 to May 4, 2026.
