Firefighters continue to tackle deadly Hong Kong tower blaze

The death toll from a deadly fire that broke out at a residential apartment complex in Hong Kong has risen to 55, authorities said.

Firefighters battled one of the deadliest modern blazes in the city’s history for a second day on Thursday, fighting to control the fire which blackened several high-rise towers.

Three men from a construction company have been arrested, and rescues were continuing.

Thick smoke poured out of the Wang Fuk Court complex in Tai Po district, a northern suburb near the border with the mainland, on Thursday morning.

The fire which started mid-afternoon on Wednesday had spread across seven of the complex’s eight buildings, and four of the towers were under control by morning, the city’s fire services said.

One firefighter was among the 55 people confirmed dead, officials said. At least 62 people were injured, many suffering from burn and inhalation injuries.

Three men, the directors and an engineering consultant of a construction company, were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.

“We have reason to believe that those in charge of the construction company were grossly negligent,” said Eileen Chung, a senior superintendent of police.

Authorities suspected some materials on the exterior walls of the high-rise buildings did not meet fire resistance standards, allowing the unusually fast spread of the fire.

The fire started on the external scaffolding of a 32-storey tower, then spread on the bamboo scaffolding and construction netting to the inside of the building and then to the other buildings, likely aided by windy conditions.

Firefighters aimed water at the intense flames from high on ladder trucks, but conditions for fighting the fire and rescuing people remained challenging.

“Debris and scaffolding of the affected buildings (is) falling down,” said Derek Armstrong Chan, deputy director of fire service operations.

“The temperature inside the buildings concerned is very high. It’s difficult for us to enter the building and go upstairs to conduct firefighting and rescue operations.”

The housing complex consisted of eight buildings with almost 2,000 apartments for about 4,800 residents, including many elderly people. It was built in the 1980s and had been undergoing a major renovation.

About 900 people were evacuated to temporary shelters overnight and Hong Kong leader John Lee said that at midnight, 279 people were missing.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping expressed condolences to the firefighter who died and extended sympathies to the families of the victims, according to state broadcaster CCTV. He also urged efforts to minimise casualties and losses.

The fire was the deadliest in Hong Kong in decades. In November 1996, 41 people died in a commercial building in Kowloon in a fire that lasted for around 20 hours.