At least 13 people were killed in a fire at a complex of residential high-rise buildings in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
Teams of firefighters are attempting to extinguish the blaze at Wang Fuc Court, a residential complex made up of eight blocks in the city’s Tai Po district in the northeast.
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“The fire service department handled a total of 28 casualties, nine of whom were declared dead at the scene. Six others were sent to hospital in critical condition and four of them died later,” Chow Wing-yin of the fire service department said in a press briefing at around 8:15 pm (1215 GMT).
According to local media reports, one of the dead was a firefighter.
The fire department said it received a report of the fire in a residential complex at 2:51 pm (0651 GMT). At 3:34 pm it was upgraded to the number 4 alarm and as night fell, it was declared a five-alarm fire, the highest level.
Earlier, local media also reported that an unknown number of people were trapped in the 31-storey towers – which house about 2,000 residential apartments – although it was unclear whether that would remain the case.
Taipo District Council member Lo Hiu-fung told local broadcaster TVB that most of the residents trapped in the fire were elderly people, although this has not yet been confirmed by authorities, the AP news agency reported.
Bamboo scaffolding and construction netting has been installed on the exterior of many of the towers currently burning.
TVB reported that large-scale renovation work was underway at the complex.
Smoke and flames are still coming out from the building complex
Live footage from Reuters news agency showed large plumes of smoke billowing from several buildings and as darkness fell, fires could be seen burning on several floors and apartments in the complex.
“Nearby residents are advised to stay indoors, close their doors and windows and remain calm,” the fire service department said.
Parts of the nearby highway have been closed due to the ongoing fire fighting operation.
Tai Po is a suburban area located in the northern part of Hong Kong, near the border with the mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen.
Edited by Shawn Sinico