Hong Kong's deadliest fire in decades blazed late into the night on Wednesday as the city's leader confirmed at least 36 people, including a firefighter, had died and another 279 people were reported missing. Hundreds of residents were evacuated as the blaze spread across seven high-rise apartment buildings in a housing complex in Tai Po district, the AP reports. At least 29 others remained hospitalized. "Police and the Fire Services Department have already set up a dedicated investigation team to investigate the cause of the fire," John Lee, Hong Kong's chief executive, said. He said the fire was "coming under control" shortly past midnight local time, which is 12pm Eastern.
Fire chiefs said high temperatures at the scene made it difficult for crews to mount rescue operations. A self-rescue page set up by residents of the Wang Fuk Court housing estate said 70 people were still seeking help at midnight, some of them trapped in apartments, the South China Morning Post reports. Residents said another 50 people were unreachable. At around 2am, Director of Fire Services Andy Yeung said firefighters were gradually making their way up the building. "We are making progress and hope we can clear each floor as soon as possible," he said. Almost 900 firefighters are at the scene.
- The housing complex consisted of eight buildings with almost 2,000 apartments housing about 4,800 residents, including many elderly people. The complex was built in the 1980s and has recently been undergoing a major renovation.
- It was not immediately known how the fire started, but officials said the fire began at the external scaffolding of one of the buildings, a 32-story tower, and later spread to inside the building and then to nearby buildings, likely aided by windy conditions.
- 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. Chris Tang, Hong Kong's secretary for security, said the fire's rapid spread was "unusual," suggesting unregulated materials had been used, the BBC reports.
- The Hong Kong Free Press reports that the fire service's website was switched to black and white to honor 37-year-old firefighter Ho Wai-ho. "I pay solemn tribute to Mr Ho for his gallantry and selfless devotion to duty, and express the deepest condolences to his family on behalf of the Civil Service," said Ingrid Yeung, secretary for the civil service.
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