At least four people have died and others remain trapped after a massive fire engulfed multiple high-rise towers of a residential complex in Hong Kong’s northern Tai Po district on Wednesday, the government and Fire Services Department said.
Firefighters continued to battle the blaze as dusk fell, with thick black smoke billowing from the 31-storey towers, home to 2,000 residential apartments.
The Fire Service Department told Reuters it does not yet have a figure for the number of people who may still be inside.
Two people are in critical condition having suffered burns, the government said, while others including some fire services staff have also been injured.
BUILDINGS SURROUNDED BY SMOKE AND FLAMES
People gathered on a nearby overhead walkway, watching in dismay as smoke billowed from the buildings, some of which were clad in bamboo scaffolding. Scores of fire engines and ambulances lined the road below the complex, according to Reuters witnesses.
The fire broke out in Wang Fuk Court, one of many high-rise housing complexes in Hong Kong, which is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Tai Po, located near the border with mainland China, is an established suburban district with a population of about 300,000.
Local television broadcaster TVB said the complex was undergoing major renovations. Wang Fuk Court is a complex under the government’s subsidised home ownership scheme. It has been occupied since 1983, according to the property’s website.
Hong Kong is one of the last places in the world where bamboo is still widely used for scaffolding in construction.
The fire department said it received reports at 2:51 p.m. (0651 GMT) that a fire had broken out in Wang Fuk Court. It was upgraded to a No. 4 alarm, the second highest, at 3:34 p.m.
Five people died after a fire broke out in a densely populated residential building in Hong Kong’s bustling Kowloon district in April last year.
Hong Kong’s Transport Department said that due to the fire an entire section of the Tai Po road, one of Hong Kong’s two main highways, has been closed and buses are being diverted.
