At least 55 people were killed and dozens injured in a fire that tore through dense residential high-rises in Hong Kong on Wednesday, the worst fire in more than seven decades in the city.
Nearly 280 people were still unreachable or believed to be trapped, with authorities sharing pictures of the dead to help families identify their loved ones. More than 70 people were wounded.
The fire was still not fully extinguished on Thursday afternoon, more than 24 hours after it broke out and winds fanned the flames between seven buildings covered in highly flammable bamboo scaffolding and plastic netting.
Authorities said they had begun searching four blocks for survivors and that the fire was under control in the other three, although not fully out.
Three construction executives, aged between 52 and 68, have been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the fire, police said.
"We have reason to believe that the company responsible parties were grossly negligent, which led to this accident and caused the fire to spread uncontrollably, resulting in major casualties," Eileen Chung, a Hong Kong police superintendent, said.
Video from the scene early on Thursday morning showed flames still leaping from at least two of the 32-storey towers, as heavy smoke billowed into the sky.
Officials said that the fire started on the external scaffolding, which was soon to be removed over safety concerns, before spreading inside. The exact cause is still unknown.
Residents described scenes of chaos as the fire ripped through the apartment blocks.
Harry Cheung, 66, who has lived at Block Two in one of the complexes for more than 40 years, said he heard a loud noise about 2.45pm local time and saw fire erupt in a nearby block.
"I immediately went back to pack up my things," he said.
"I don't even know how I feel right now. I'm just thinking about where I'm going to sleep tonight."
One 71-year-old resident surnamed Wong broke down in tears, saying his wife was trapped inside.
It was unclear how many people were still inside the 32-storey towers at Wang Fuk Court, where the fire broke out earlier in the afternoon. Some 4,600 people live in flats across the complex.
Almost 800 firefighters and 57 ambulances were drawn in to help as Chinese president Xi Jinping called for an all-out effort from emergency services to extinguish the fire.
The president extended his condolences to the victims. The dead included one firefighter, identified as 37-year-old Ho Wai-ho, who was found collapsed after losing contact with his crew.
Director of fire services Andy Yeung described Ho as a “dedicated” and “gallant” firefighter.
Indonesia's foreign ministry said on Thursday that two Indonesian migrant workers "in the domestic sector" died in the fire and two others were injured.
Some 900 people had to be evacuated to nine temporary shelters. Residents told local media that fire alarms had not sounded, potentially delaying the response.
Lo Hiu-fung, a Tai Po District Council member, told local TV station TVB that most of the residents trapped are believed to be elderly people.
"I've given up thinking about my property," one resident who only provided his surname, Wu, told TVB. "Watching it burn like that was really frustrating."
Derek Armstrong Chan, deputy director of Fire Services, said that rescue efforts were being hampered by debris and scaffolding still falling from the burning buildings.
“The temperature inside the buildings concerned is very high,” he said. “It’s difficult for us to enter the building and go upstairs to conduct firefighting and rescue operations.”
The blaze was upgraded to level 5 severity, the highest, as night fell. It was the first time in 17 years that a level 5 fire had hit Hong Kong.
Flames were still flickering brightly in windows as black smoke billowed from buildings into the evening.
Thirteen schools in the area will remain closed on Thursday, with authorities warning it could take all day to get the fire completely under control.
The buildings, erected in 1983, were undergoing renovations when the fire broke out.
Hong Kong is one of the last places in the world to still use bamboo scaffolding in construction.
Tai Po is a suburban area in the New Territories, in the northern part of Hong Kong and near the border with the mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen.
Wednesday’s fire is the deadliest in Hong Kong in 77 years since 1948, when 176 people were killed following an explosion on the ground floor of a five-storey warehouse containing “dangerous goods” such as flammable materials, including film, asphalt, and other combustibles.
