Michael Zajakowski Just wow. This is an incredible news photo! What else can I say? The photo says it all.
Alex Ng This is an outstanding and deeply moving example of photojournalism. When I taught news photography, I often told my students that photojournalism frequently means confronting tragedy. Photographers may face war, disaster, death, or the most painful moments in another person’s life. They are not without emotion, but when the decisive moment arrives, they must remain professionally composed and fulfil their responsibility as witnesses. This photograph demonstrates that perfectly. In the foreground, a man reacts in extreme anguish as his wife remains trapped inside the burning building. His expression, gestures and body language reveal overwhelming despair, while flames and smoke consume the high-rise behind him. A great news portrait is not simply a close-up of emotion. The person must exist within the context of the event. A close-up would show us a grieving man; the fire alone would show us a disaster. Here, person, emotion, environment and event all come together in one decisive frame. What is equally impressive is the photographer’s ability to stay composed under such emotional pressure and recognise that the background is essential to the story. This image does more than record a fire. It records a profound human tragedy. My deepest condolences to all those who lost their lives.
Danielle A. Scruggs The emotion makes this impossible to turn away from.
Wong, 71, reacts in despair, shouting that his wife is trapped inside the building as flames engulf Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, Hong Kong, China, on November 26, 2025— his last phone call with her, just moments before. The inferno, Hong Kong's worst fire in nearly 80 years, has claimed 159 lives with 31 still missing.