‘They must have been hugging’: Son breaks down after parents’ ashes found in charred flat

On the seventh day after the catastrophic fire at Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court, a grieving couple finally found what they believe to be the remains of the elderly parents they had been searching for since the day of the blaze.

The discovery came after a week of daily visits to the identification center at Kwong Fuk Community Hall, where families have been shown photographs of bodies and fragments recovered from the wreckage.

For Mr. and Mrs. So, the moment was devastating. The couple said they came across an image taken inside the parents’ flat in Wang Cheong House — the block where the fire first erupted — showing only partial bone fragments and ash. DNA testing will still be required to confirm the identities.

Recalling the moment they broke down, Mr. So said with his voice trembling: “The police said it’s tissue… some of it has already turned to ash… but we could see two people who looked like they were holding each other, from the position of the pelvis on both sides.”

He paused before continuing, “Maybe it’s just my imagination. But they were very loving. They wouldn’t leave each other. So I believe… I believe they must have been hugging when they left.”

The Sos live in Wang Chi House — the only block in the estate not touched by the fire — while Mr. So’s parents, both in their 80s, lived on the upper floors of Wang Cheong House. He was on his way to work when he received a call from his mother.

“She said the flat was full of smoke, that there was a fire,” he said. His office was only a ten-minute walk from home, and he kept her on the line as he ran back toward the block. But the situation deteriorated faster than he could reach them.

When asked about their final conversation, Mr. So broke down again. “She said she would go out, that she was going downstairs. Then I only heard her say, ‘This time we’re dead!’ And then nothing… The line didn’t cut off, but all I could hear were noises. I kept shouting: ‘Mom! Mom!’ but she didn’t respond. I didn’t know what to do… I felt so helpless.”

He managed to get back to their own flat in Wang Chi House to rescue his wife and their cat, but the couple could only watch from afar as Wang Cheong House was engulfed in flames. They clutched the phone tightly, calling the elderly couple’s names until the signal finally went silent.

Mrs. So said that from the first day, after hearing the last words from her parents-in-law over the phone, they understood the gravity of the situation. But seeing the photograph made the loss painfully real.

Her voice cracking, she said, “Hearing their last words… from that moment we already knew something terrible had happened. But seeing the photo today… it hurts so much.”

She added softly, “I still feel guilty. We couldn’t save Dad and Mom. It ended up being just me and our cat.”