HONG KONG — At least 44 people were confirmed dead and 279 remained missing after a massive fire tore through a high rise housing complex in Hong Kong, making it the city’s deadliest blaze in decades.
The fire began Wednesday afternoon in the Tai Po district in the New Territories and continued burning into Thursday morning. Rescuers worked through the night to pull residents from several burning buildings as flames and thick smoke engulfed the complex.
Police arrested three men on suspicion of manslaughter in connection with the incident, according to local media reports.
The blaze spread across seven of the complex’s eight residential towers, forcing hundreds of residents to flee. About 29 people remained hospitalized as of Thursday morning. Authorities said more than 900 residents were evacuated to temporary shelters.
Officials said the fire started on external scaffolding on a 32 story tower, then moved inside the building and leapt to nearby structures, likely driven by strong winds. Fire Services Director Andy Yeung said investigators found highly flammable foam sheets that may have contributed to the unusually rapid spread of the flames.
Firefighters battled extreme heat as bamboo scaffolding and construction netting fueled the blaze. Crews deployed more than 200 fire trucks and over 100 ambulances while water cannons on ladder trucks attempted to contain the fire. The alarm level was raised to level 5, the highest severity classification, as conditions worsened at nightfall.
A 37 year old firefighter was among those killed. Another firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion. The Fire Services Department said three of the buildings were coming under control shortly after midnight, but operations remained hazardous, with debris and scaffolding falling from upper floors.
The housing complex, built in the 1980s, contained nearly 2,000 apartments and about 4,800 residents, including many elderly people. It had been undergoing major renovation when the fire broke out.
City leader John Lee said the government would focus its resources on the disaster response and suspend public efforts for the Legislative Council elections scheduled for December 7. He did not say whether the elections would be postponed.
Chinese President Xi Jinping offered condolences for the firefighter who died and sent sympathies to the victims’ families, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Residents described the fear and devastation as the fire spread. One woman, surnamed Wu, told TVB she had stopped thinking about her belongings, saying it was painful to watch her home burn.
Bamboo scaffolding remains widely used in Hong Kong for construction, though authorities announced plans earlier this year to begin phasing it out in public projects due to safety risks.
The blaze is Hong Kong’s most lethal since 1996, when 41 people were killed in a commercial building fire in Kowloon.
Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.
- Venus L Peñaflor
- Venus L Peñaflor
- Venus L Peñaflor
- Venus L Peñaflor
