Yip Ka-Kui broke down in tears as he recounted to CBS News the story of his last conversation with his wife. CBS News

Yip Ka-kui told CBS News he was about to take a nap when his wife called him from the other room to say a fire was climbing up the building next door, where their son lived.

"I was so nervous. I immediately got my clothes, phone and went downstairs," he said.

He never imagined that the blaze at the Wang Fuk Court apartment complex in Hong Kong would spread so quickly. It tore through bamboo scaffolding, mesh netting covering it, and then foam window coverings that had adorned the sprawling complex's eight buildings for ongoing renovation work.

"I got outside and saw a big fire," he told CBS News on Monday, as the official death toll from the blaze climbed to over 150. "Fire was spreading everywhere, and I could hear the bamboo exploding. The fire spread to the other block. The mesh caught alight."

That other block was his own building, where he knew his wife was still upstairs.He watched as the blaze spread up the sides, quickly blocking the main lobby.

"I called my wife immediately and said there's a big fire and we have to go now," the 67-year-old recalled through tears. "I told my wife, don't come down."

He had hoped that firefighters would be able to get the blaze under control before it was too late.

On the other end of the phone, his distraught wife, Bai Shui Lin, told him she couldn't move through the thick smoke.

"Then there was so much noise," he said. "I can't hear her anymore … only noise. And then I can't contact her anymore. That's the last call I had with her."

"I kept waiting, hoping the fire would be put out. I thought maybe only the outside would be affected. But the fire just kept getting bigger," he said.

As the blaze spread to seven of the buildings on the complex, Yip watched from behind a police cordon for any sign of his wife being carried out, but he never saw her.

He said he pored over lists of photos and names of victims for days as the death toll mounted, giving her description to nearby hospitals in the hope that she had been rescued.

"I couldn't find my wife," he said through tears. "I tried everything."

Five days later, police confirmed his worst fears in a phone call on Monday. Bai, his wife of 40 years, never made it out of their building.

The couple's two sons had to confirm her identification, but her remains were burned so badly that authorities used an ID card found in her purse to verify it was her.

Yip said she had gone door to door, warning neighbors of the fire that had spread to their building and saying she helped at least three other families make it out before it was too late.

Both of their sons survived the catastrophic fire, but Yip said he was struggling with guilt over the loss of his wife.

"If I'd asked her to leave a minute earlier, I think she would have survived," he said. "But we know her. She wouldn't have left without warning others."

Hong Kong authorities said at least 30 people were still missing on Monday, and recovery teams were still sweeping the seven charred buildings to find victims who failed to escape.

At least 14 people have been arrested for suspected manslaughter, as details of apparent safety regulation violations involving the materials on the outside of the building continue to come to light. Authorities have not ruled out further arrests.


Bai Shui Lin, 66, warned her neighbors and helped make sure at least three other families made it out of the burning building safely. Family photo

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