Fire in Hong Kong apartment complex leaves 44 dead and 279 missing

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A massive fire broke out in several large residential buildings in Hong Kong, killing 44 people, while 279 are still missing, city authorities said.

Hundreds of firefighters were working to control the fire that broke out in the Tai Po district in northern Hong Kong on Thursday, with 45 people taken to hospital in serious condition.

On Thursday, police said they had arrested three local men on suspicion of manslaughter. The men led the construction company responsible for maintaining the complex, and their ages ranged between 52 and 68 years.

The fire was discovered on Wednesday afternoon in the Wang Fook Residential Complex, which includes apartment buildings more than 30 floors high, before spreading to seven of the complex’s eight towers.

Figures from the Hong Kong Housing Authority show that one building on the estate has 248 apartments.

A previous fatal city fire of similar size occurred in 1996, when 41 people died in a building fire in Kowloon.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee described the fire as a “massive disaster,” adding that firefighters were gradually controlling the blaze.

Local media reported that Lee said the government has suspended all propaganda campaigns related to the upcoming Legislative Council elections scheduled for December 7, and will decide within a few days whether to postpone the vote entirely.

Live video of the property showed the fire had subsided by Thursday morning, although flames were visible on most floors. Earlier footage showed flames shooting from buildings, many of them burning from top to bottom.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday expressed his condolences to the victims.

The Hong Kong Fire Department classified the fire as a Level 5 emergency, the highest severity category and the first in 17 years.

Officers discovered Styrofoam inside the burning apartments, which made the fire worse, said Andy Young, the city’s fire services director, adding that the number of floors on fire made it more difficult to extinguish the flames, according to local media.

Another fire official said strong winds were also a factor in blowing away parts of bamboo scaffolding and netting that had been erected around buildings to renovate other buildings in the complex.

Officials said on Thursday that the fire department found protective nets, plastic sheets and pieces of waterproof tarpaulins, which were suspected to not meet fire safety standards.