HONG KONG: At least four people have died and others remain trapped after a massive fire engulfed multiple high-rise towers of a residential complex in Hong Kong’s northern Tai Po district on Wednesday (Nov 26), the government and Fire Services Department said.
Firefighters continued to battle the blaze as dusk fell, with thick black smoke billowing from the 31-storey towers, home to 2,000 residential apartments. Records show the housing complex consisted of eight blocks with almost 2,000 apartments housing about 4,800 people.
Five other people have been hospitalised. Three of the injured were in critical condition, one in serious condition and the other person was stable, a brief government statement said.
The dead included one firefighter, and another was being treated for heat exhaustion, Fire Services Department Director Andy Yeung told reporters.
Police said they had received multiple reports of people trapped in the affected buildings, but did not provide details.
Lo Hiu-fung, a Taipo District Council member, told local TV station TVB earlier on Wednesday that most of the residents trapped in the fire were believed to be elderly people.
