By Catherine Nicholls, Chris Lau, Jadyn Beverley Sham and Lex Harvey, CNN
A deadly inferno has torn through a massive housing complex in Hong Kong, killing at least 44 people, with more than 270 others still missing, in what is shaping up to be the city's worst disaster in decades.
Firefighters were still trying to get parts of the fire under control on Thursday morning (local time) - more than 16 hours after the blaze first broke out - with rescue officials saying extremely high temperatures inside the buildings hampered their ability to reach residents they knew to be trapped.
Questions are swirling on how such a fire in a skyscraper-filled city, with a usually strong public safety record and construction standards could become so deadly, leaping from building to building.
More than 4000 people lived in Wang Fuk Court, a public housing estate home to many people aged 65 and older in the city's Tai Po neighborhood, just kilometres from the border with mainland China.
The exact cause of the fire is not yet known, but a criminal investigation has been launched.
The complex was under renovation, and encased in bamboo scaffolding and safety netting - a construction technique that's ubiquitous in Hong Kong and parts of mainland China. Authorities are also investigating whether flammable material, including polystyrene boards blocking windows of apartments, may have contributed to the inferno.
As of Thursday morning, first responders were focusing their efforts on three of the seven blocks affected, where at least 279 people are still missing.
Here's what we know:
How did the blaze start?
Firefighters first received a call about the fire shortly before 3pm local time (8pm NZ)), according to the Hong Kong Fire Department.
The blaze started at Wang Cheong House, a 32-story residential building and one of eight tower blocks that make up the Wang Fuk Court complex, which was undergoing renovations, fire department deputy operations director of operations Derek Armstrong Chan said.
By the time fire crews were on the scene at the first building, the scaffolding and netting was on fire. Firefighters began tackling that blaze, but it quickly spread from building to building, turning a single tower block fire into simultaneous multi-story infernos.
At least seven of the eight tower blocks within the complex were affected by the blaze, forcing those who were able to escape the flames into temporary accommodation.
It quickly emerged many residents remained trapped inside their apartments, with firefighters unable to reach them, amid searing temperatures inside the buildings, as well as falling debris.
By the early hours of Thursday morning local time, fires were extinguished in three buildings, with four still showing "scattered traces of fire", according to the city's leader, Hong Kong chief executive John Lee.
It is not yet known how many of the 279 missing people were trapped - or simply people still listed as uncontacted in the chaos of evacuating such a huge complex.
Firefighters knew where many people were trapped, Chan said.
Thick smoke and flames rise, as a major fire engulfs several apartment blocks at the Wang Fuk Court residential estate. Photo: YAN ZHAO / AFP
"However, due to extreme heat inside the specific buildings, we are currently unable to reach upward to those trapped inside. We will keep going and keep trying."
Evacuations, polystyrene boards
A key question for authorities remains why the other tower blocks were not evacuated more quickly, once the fire began to spread from the first building.
More than 800 firefighters were deployed to tackle the blaze, with 128 firetrucks and 57 ambulances sent to the scene.
Early Thursday morning local time, a police spokesperson said Hong Kong Police arrested the three men, accusing them of "gross negligence".
Police found the construction company name on inflammable polystyrene boards that blocked some windows at the apartment complex. Officials added that they suspected other construction materials found at the apartments - including protective nets, canvas and plastic covers - failed to meet safety standards.
"These polystyrene boards are extremely inflammable and the fire spread very rapidly," Fire Services director Andy Yeung said. "Their presence was unusual, so we have referred the incident to the police for further enquiries."
Rescue workers arrive on the scene during a fire at residential buildings in Wang Fuk Court, Photo: Bertha Wang/CNN via CNN Newsource
What do we know about the victims?
At least 44 people have been killed by the blaze so far, including a 37-year-old firefighter, who sustained injuries, while trying to tackle the flames, Hong Kong officials said.
Forty people died at the scene of the fire, while the other four died in hospital, they said.
Officials said the firefighter, who they identified as Ho Wai-ho, was rushed to hospital for treatment, but succumbed to his injuries.=
At least another two firefighters were injured battling the flames, an official from the Fire Services Department's Ambulance Command said.
One injured his left leg, while the other suffered "extreme exhaustion", Wing Yin Chou, an assistant chief ambulance officer for the New Territories East division, said.
Hundreds of residents are now likely homeless in a city where there is already acute shortage of housing and public housing.
A 65-year-old resident of the estate, who gave his surname as Ho, stood behind police tape on Thursday morning and watched the smoldering tower blocks, as he contemplated his next steps.
A resident of Block 1, in the easternmost corner of the complex, Ho said he counted himself lucky for the relatively light damage his building faced.
"I heard a fire alarm in my building at around 3pm and, when I looked outside, I saw Block 6 on fire," he said, adding that he immediately left his apartment on the 11th floor, taking nothing with him.
Like so many other residents, he spent much of the next hours looking on helplessly, as other buildings in the complex caught fire.
"I doubt many elderly, cats and dogs are still in there," he told CNN.
Is this common in Hong Kong?
This is likely the deadliest fire in Hong Kong since World War II. Previously, the 1996 Garley building fire, which killed 41 people, was widely described as the worst peacetime fire in Hong Kong history.
Disasters like this are extremely rare in Hong Kong. One of the densest cities in the world, it has a strong track record, when it comes to building safety, thanks to its high-quality construction and strict enforcement of building regulations.
Also, bamboo scaffolding is ubiquitous in the city, used not only in the construction of new buildings, but also in the renovation of thousands of historic tenements every year.
The technique has faced mounting scrutiny for its safety and durability. While bamboo is celebrated for its flexibility, it is also combustible and prone to deterioration over time.
Hong Kong's Development Bureau recently announced that 50 percent of new public building projects erected from March onwards would need to use metal scaffolding to "better protect workers" and align with modern construction standards in "advanced cities".
That statement drew backlash from residents, many of whom noted that bamboo scaffolding was a cultural heritage that needed to be maintained.
Flames engulf bamboo scaffolding across Hong Kong buildings. Photo: Tyrone Siu/Reuters via CNN Newsource
Pressure on Chinese, Hong Kong officials
Such a deadly blaze is likely to pile pressure on both Hong Kong and Chinese officials.
Hong Kong is a semi-autonomous part of China and run by its own local government that answers to leaders in Beijing, but China has also ramped up control over the city in recent years, especially after huge and sometimes violent democracy protests swept he city in 2019.
Dissent has been quashed and protests, once a daily feature of life in Hong Kong, have been snuffed out.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping expressed his condolences to the victims of the disaster, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Xi urged "all-out efforts" from representatives of China's Central Committee and the Hong Kong Liaison Office to do "everything possible" to assist efforts in minimising casualties and losses from the fire, according to CCTV.
Lee said he was "saddened" by the deaths caused by the fire, expressing his "deep condolences to the families of the deceased and those who were injured".
Hong Kong's government will dedicate "all its manpower and efforts" to the rescue effort, Lee said, describing the fire as a "major disaster".
-CNN
