Hong Kong high-rise fire’s death toll rises to 44, hundreds remain missing

The Hong Kong fire department has said that at last 44 people have been killed and hundreds remain missing in a fire in high-rise.

The fire was still burning at the time of writing this story, according to AFP.

The police said at least three persons had been arrested in the case on suspicion of manslaughter.

The fire began on Wednesday afternoon in an eight-building complex that has around 2,000 apartments. These blames first took hold of bamboo scaffolding on several apartment blocks of Wang Fuk Court Hong Kong’s northern district of Tai Po.

Hing Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said that at least 900 people relocated from the area to safer locations.

An AFP reporter heard loud cracking sounds on Wednesday at the scene of the fire, possibly from the burning bamboo. They also saw thick plumes of smoke billowing from the buildings as flames and ash reached high into the sky.

Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated places in the world and is infamous for cramped houses.

It’s still unclear how many are missing

A police officer at a temporary shelter told AFP it was unclear how many people were missing because residents were still trickling in late into the night to report missing family members. Moreover, a local said that there were many elderly in the area.

A 65-year-old person who only gave the news agency his last name, Yuen, said many neighbours in the complex were elderly and might not be mobile.

“The windows were closed because of the maintenance, (some people) didn’t know there was a fire and had to be told to evacuate via phone calls by neighbours. I’m devastated. There is loss of property and loss of life, and even a firefighter has died,” said Yuen.

The temperature at the scene is very high and there are some floors where fire service personnel have been unable to reach people who requested help, but they will keep trying, said Derek Armstrong Chan, the deputy director of fire service operations.

Chan said the fire likely spread from one building to another due to the wind and drifting debris. He added the authorities are investigating the cause of the blaze.

Any investigation is bound to look into the materials on the buildings’ exterior that may have caused the blaze to spread faster than usual.