Robotic Legs Help Elderly Victims Return to Hong Kong Fire Site

More than four months after a devastating fire gutted her apartment in Tai Po, 59-year-old Fanny Mok is finally preparing to go home. To reach her 13th-floor flat, she isn’t relying on luck she’s using robotic legs.

Mok is one of thousands displaced by the late November blaze that killed 168 people and torched seven high-rise towers at Wang Fuk Court. With the elevators still out of service, the climb is a daunting task for the estate’s aging population.

“My knees hurt and I lack the strength,” said Mok, who currently stays in a small hostel. “If I were 30, I wouldn't need this. But at 60, I genuinely do.”

She is now training with a robotic exoskeleton provided by the NGO AidVengers Federation. The devices developed by Shanghai-based Hypershell, assist users in climbing stairs by offloading weight and boosting leg power.

Former residents have been granted a narrow window from April 20 to May 4 to retrieve their belongings. However, each household is strictly limited to just three hours.

Built in the 1980s, Wang Fuk Court housed 4,600 people, a third of whom are over 65. For residents like 61-year-old Betty Ho, who lived on the 15th floor for 35 years, the time limit is a second tragedy.

“How can you take everything you’ve lived with for decades in just three hours?” Ho asked. She hopes to rescue cash and family photo albums. “It’s basically impossible. Letting go is very difficult.”