At least 36 dead and more than 270 ‘unaccounted for’ after huge fire at Hong Kong high-rise residential complex
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Four dead as fire rages through Hong Kong high-rise residential complex
Press AssociationToday at 18:56
The death toll from a massive fire that ripped through multiple high-rise residential blocks in Hong Kong’s northern Tai Po district has risen to 36, the city’s leader John Lee said early on Thursday.
At least 279 people were still unaccounted for, he added, with several dozen hospitalised.
Video from the scene showed at least five buildings close to each other ablaze, with flames coming out of many of the apartments’ windows. Firefighters were aiming water at the intense flames from high up on ladder trucks.
The raging fire sent up a column of flames and thick smoke as it spread on bamboo scaffolding and construction netting that had been set up around the exterior of the complex in the city’s Tai Po district. Records show the housing complex consisted of eight blocks housing almost 2,000 apartments.
Firefighters tackle the fire at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong’s New Territories (Chan Long Hei/AP)
Police said they had received multiple reports of people trapped in the affected buildings.
The dead included one firefighter and another was being treated for heat exhaustion, Fire Services Department director Andy Yeung said.
The blaze was reported mid afternoon and upgraded to the second highest level of severity, the Department said.
Tai Po is a suburban area in the New Territories, in the northern part of Hong Kong and near the border with the mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen.
Bamboo scaffolding is a common sight in Hong Kong at building construction and renovation projects, though the government said earlier this year that it would start phasing it out for public projects because of safety concerns.
