Hong Kong’s worst fire in decades kills 44, hundreds missing in 2,000-apartment complex

[HONG KONG] Hong Kong rescue workers are seeking to contain a major blaze at a high-rise complex that’s killed at least 44 people and resulted in hundreds of people missing, with Chinese President Xi Jinping urging all-out efforts to reduce casualties.

Blazes in four of the buildings are under control, while three remain burning in the housing estate in the northern part of the city, according to a fire department official during a briefing around 6 am local time on Thursday (Nov 27).

An additional 72 people are reported missing, the official said. An earlier estimate put the number of missing at 279.

Xi also asked other local governments to aid Hong Kong, according to the official Xinhua News Agency, as it battles its worst residential fire since a blaze tore through a tenement building, leaving 44 dead in 1962. Fire operations are expected to stretch into the evening, more than 24 hours after the blaze started.

Police arrested two directors and an engineering consultant from an engineering company on suspicion of manslaughter. The complex, which has close to 2,000 units, was built as government-subsidised housing in the 1980s and was undergoing a lengthy renovation.

Secretary for Security Chris Tang earlier said a criminal investigation will be pursued.

“Protective netting, fire-resistant cloth and plastic sheeting on the exterior of the building burned far more intensely and spread much faster than compliant materials normally would,” said Tang, calling the situation “unusual.”

Residents of several buildings had made calls to say they were unable to escape, public broadcaster Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) reported earlier, citing a police statement.

Hong Kong estates are densely populated, with multi-generational families often living inside one small apartment. Wang Fuk Court was estimated to house nearly 5,000 people.

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It’s located in the suburban Tai Po district, which has about 300,000 residents and encompasses housing for various income ranges as well as parks and shopping malls.

Authorities said the fire broke out around 2.50 pm on Wednesday. Video footage showed the blaze still raging after dark had fallen. Videos circulating online showed smoke billowing into the sky from the residential buildings, where bamboo scaffolding appeared to have caught fire.

A 37-year-old fireman was among the dead, after being found collapsed at the scene and rushed to Prince of Wales Hospital, the government said in a statement. The fire has been classified at alert level 5, the most severe category.

Scaffolding at Wang Cheong House in the complex caught fire first, deputy fire services director Derek Chan said at a media briefing five hours after the blaze began, according to RTHK.

“Debris and scaffolding of the affected buildings are falling down, so they pose additional danger to our frontline personnel,” he said, the outlet reported. “The temperature inside the buildings concerned are very high. It’s quite difficult for us to enter.”

Hong Kong chief executive John Lee said in a statement that he’d ordered an all-out effort across government departments to put out the fire and rescue those trapped. He, as well as Xi, expressed condolences to the families of the deceased and injured. BLOOMBERG