TeaThe death toll from a massive fire that swept through several residential tower blocks in Hong Kong has risen to 36, with 279 others reported missing, city leader John Lee said Thursday morning.
A taskforce has been formed to investigate the cause of a fire that broke out on Wednesday afternoon at the Wang Fuk Court residential complex in Tai Po, in the Northern New Territories. The complex is made up of eight 31-storey towers with approximately 2,000 flats housing approximately 4,800 people.
Lee said 29 people were in hospital, including seven in critical condition, and the fire was “coming under control”.
Authorities declared the incident a five-alarm fire, the highest emergency rating, and dispatched at least 128 fire engines and approximately 800 firefighters to control the blaze. Roads, including major highways, have been closed near the towers.
Immediately after the fire, Hong Kong Fire Service Deputy Director of Operations Derek Armstrong Chan said: “The temperature inside the buildings concerned is very high. It is difficult for us to enter the building and go up to conduct fire-fighting and rescue operations.”
The dead included at least a 37-year-old firefighter named Ho Wai-ho.
Video from the scene showed flames spreading through the towers and hitting every floor, shooting out of windows.
Dozens of stunned residents, many of them crying, watched as smoke billowed from the complex from nearby sidewalks.
“Nothing can be done about the property. We can only hope that everyone, whether old or young, can return safely,” a Tai Po resident who gave his surname as So told Agence France-Presse near the site of the fire. “It’s heartbreaking. We’re concerned that there are people trapped inside.”
A resident who gave his surname as Wong, 71, began crying, saying his wife was trapped inside a building.
The Wang Fuk Court Towers are among the tallest towers in Tai Po, which, like Hong Kong, is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Many residents are elderly, according to 2021 census data reported by CNN.
The Hong Kong government said all departments were coordinating response efforts and assisting affected residents.
China’s state broadcaster said late Wednesday that Chinese leader Xi Jinping had expressed his condolences to the victims.
Officials said the fire broke out in some of the outer bamboo and lattice scaffolding before spreading inside the towers, but its exact cause is still not known.
Building standards in Hong Kong are relatively high and have improved significantly in recent decades, but the Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims has expressed deep concern about scaffolding-related fires, noting similar incidents in April, May and October.
Bamboo scaffolding is a ubiquitous sight on Hong Kong construction and renovation sites, although the government has said it is being phased out for safety reasons.
Authorities in Tai Po district have opened shelters in local community halls, at least one of which was filled by Wednesday night, and police have set up a casualty hotline.
Many forums and campaign events related to the December 7 elections that were scheduled for the coming days have been canceled.
The fire is the deadliest in Hong Kong in years. In November 1996, 41 people died in a level five fire at a commercial building in Kowloon that lasted about 20 hours.
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