At least 44 people have been killed and nearly 300 others are missing after a massive fire broke out in an apartment complex in Hong Kong, media reports said on Thursday.
Reuters quoted police as saying that the huge fire — still burning in a Hong Kong apartment complex — may have been intensified by unsafe scaffolding and foam materials used during ongoing maintenance work. The blaze has already claimed at least 44 lives and left almost 300 people unaccounted for.
Firefighters worked through the night but struggled to reach residents who may be trapped on the upper floors of the Wang Fuk Court housing complex due to intense heat and thick smoke. The fire erupted on Wednesday afternoon.
The densely populated complex in the northern Tai Po district consists of 2,000 apartments across eight blocks, housing more than 4,600 residents in a city already grappling with chronic shortages of affordable homes.
By Thursday morning, authorities said the fire had been brought under control in four blocks, while operations continued in three others.
“We have reason to believe that the company’s responsible parties were grossly negligent, which led to this accident and caused the fire to spread uncontrollably, resulting in major casualties,” said Eileen Chung, a Hong Kong police superintendent.
She added that three men from the construction company — two directors and an engineering consultant — had been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.
Among the 44 confirmed dead was a firefighter. Forty-five others remained in critical condition in hospital, Hong Kong police told reporters before dawn on Thursday.
“The priority is to extinguish the fire and rescue the residents who are trapped,” Hong Kong leader John Lee said earlier. “The second is to support the injured. The third is to support and recover. Then, we’ll launch a thorough investigation.”
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