Hong Kong residents react as deadly fire tears through housing estate

“When you get closer the heat increases and you can feel it and the smoke is really heavy.”

Student Thomas Liu was one of several people who arrived at the scene of the deadly fire that engulfed much of the eight-block Wang Fuk Court housing complex in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district.

At least 36 people have died so far in Wednesday’s devastating fire, and hundreds are still missing, with fears that the toll will rise. The reason is not yet known.

“It’s a disaster,” Thomas said of the fire, telling the BBC that he had seen a body being taken away.

“Many people sent us WhatsApp messages or called us saying their relatives were still inside or couldn’t find them,” Tai Po district councilor Mui Siu-fung told BBC China.

More than a thousand other people were forced to evacuate properties as the flames spread, with some moving to centers where they have been housed. Police also removed people from nearby buildings.

The fire is slowly being brought under control but officials say they do not know when it will be completely extinguished. Flames could be seen coming from different apartments and many people watched silently.

One woman said her friends lived inside the building and she was waiting to hear if they would manage to get out.

Harry Cheung, who has lived in block two of the Wang Fuk Court complex for more than 40 years, told Reuters he heard a “very loud noise” and saw a nearby block on fire.

“I immediately went back to pack my things,” the 66-year-old resident said.

“I don’t even know how I feel right now. I’m just wondering where I’m going to sleep tonight because I probably won’t be able to go back home.”

A woman in her sixties, surnamed Kam, who lives in the nearby Kwang Fook Estate, told the South China Morning Post (SCMP) that many of her friends who live in Wang Fook Court have been accounted for – but not all.

A friend takes a daily afternoon nap and may have been sleeping when the fire broke out at 14:51 local time (06:51 GMT), Ms Kam said, adding that the woman’s daughters had not yet been able to contact her.

Another resident, Jason Kong, 65, told Reuters that a neighbor called him and said he was still trapped inside one of the tower blocks.

“I am devastated. There are a lot of neighbors and friends. I don’t know what’s happening now. Look, all the apartments are burning. I don’t know what to do. I hope the government can help us settle down after this.”

An elderly woman who lives in one of the affected blocks told the BBC that she was not at home when the fire broke out, but that she is worried about her apartment as it is not insured.

“I’m very upset that I don’t have a home to go to now,” she said.

Although the cause of the fires that broke out in several high-rise blocks is unknown, the flames are believed to have spread rapidly through the bamboo scaffolding covering the buildings, which were undergoing renovations.

Some people have expressed anger that such a massive fire could have happened and criticized the response.

“When there is a forest fire, they will deploy helicopters and drop water bombs, but why is there no such deployment and how can they leave other buildings burning?” asked Ms Poon, another resident of Wang Fook Court, in her sixties.

“The community is very close to the fire station and we thought the fire could be extinguished soon, but now the fire has spread. I am very disappointed,” he told the SCMP.

Ms Poon said she was given no instructions from the government on where to seek help.

The BBC spoke to some residents of Tai Po who brought supplies, including dozens of blankets and heat packs, to victims and affected residents.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said government departments were assisting residents affected by the fires.

When residents were asked about their feelings about the fire, they said that “the government is incompetent” and that they were “extremely discouraged”.

“We don’t want to see more casualties,” one said.