Thirty-six people, including a firefighter, were killed after a massive fire engulfed seven high-rise apartment buildings in Hong Kong, China. The fire broke out on Wednesday afternoon at a housing complex, and by nightfall, the alarm had been upgraded to a level five, the highest classification.
Firefighters struggled to contain the blaze, which continued to burn through sections of the complex, stretching emergency teams well into the night. By Thursday morning, one of the firefighters had been pronounced dead while the others continued to battle the flames. Authorities have since recorded 36 people dead and over 279 others unaccounted for.
They confirmed that firefighter Mr Ho, who sustained critical injuries while trying to control the blaze, lost his life. He was among four people who were pronounced dead at the hospital. Hong Kong’s secretary for security, Tang Ping-keung, expressed sorrow over the loss, saying, “I am profoundly grieved at the passing of Mr Ho, who lost his life in the course of an operation. I offer my deepest condolences to his family members.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping also sent his condolences to the victims, a sentiment that City leader Lee echoed and said the government would be helping the affected residents.
Images and footage from the scene showed flames racing up the bamboo scaffolding that wrapped sections of the buildings, with thick smoke billowing from multiple floors. The scale of the fire forced a massive evacuation effort at the scene, which is known for having some of the most densely populated and tallest apartments in the world.
Records indicate that the complex contains 2,000 apartments across eight blocks, with an estimated 4,800 residents living there. The fire forced officials to temporarily relocate 700 residents. Some of the residents are elderly and might not be mobile, per the report.
One of the residents, 65-year-old Yuen, said that the maintenance that the apartment building was undergoing led to their windows being closed, causing some of his neighbours to be unaware of the fire until they received emergency phone calls. Yuen, who has been living at the apartment for several decades, described the ordeal as devastating.
The fire is recorded as the worst one in decades for the city. Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire, but they believe that it spread so quickly due to the wind blowing the debris.
