‘My superhero’: girlfriend mourns loss of firefighter killed in Hong Kong blaze

Pride mingled with grief as the family and loved ones of the Hong Kong firefighter who died while battling Wednesday’s disastrous high-rise inferno shared their feelings of tragic loss.

The girlfriend of the deceased firefighter, Ho Wai-ho, posted a heartfelt message on social media on Thursday, revealing her grief and longing for her boyfriend.

“I really, really want to be able to hold your hand again,” she wrote, adding that she “could not accept” what had happened and wished to “take a break” from the internet.

Ho was pronounced dead at Prince of Wales Hospital at 4.45pm on Wednesday – nearly 45 minutes after the 37-year-old was found with burns to his face on the ground floor of Wang Cheong House.

The No 5 alarm inferno in Tai Po had claimed 55 lives, including Ho, and left 76 people hospitalised as of Thursday evening, while full-scale rescue operations were still under way.

Ho had served in the Fire Services Department for nine years and was stationed at Sha Tin Fire Station when he was dispatched to the blaze.