By Daniel OrtonShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberThirteen people have died in a devastating fire that tore through seven high-rise apartment blocks in a Hong Kong housing complex on Wednesday, according to the city’s Fire Services Department.
Authorities said nine victims were pronounced dead at the scene, while four others later died in hospital. At least 15 additional people were injured.
Roughly 700 residents were evacuated to temporary shelters as the blaze swept rapidly across bamboo scaffolding and construction netting wrapped around the exterior of the Tai Po district complex in the New Territories. Official records indicate the development includes eight residential blocks with nearly 2,000 units and a population of about 4,800.
Video captured from the scene showed flames engulfing multiple buildings clustered closely together, with fire shooting from apartment windows as night fell. Firefighters used ladder trucks to direct streams of water toward the upper floors, but the inferno continued to burn well past midnight local time.
...The fire began in the mid-afternoon and was upgraded to a level 5 alarm—the highest severity rating—after dark, officials said. In total, 128 fire trucks and 57 ambulances were deployed.
Among the dead was one firefighter, and another was treated for heat exhaustion, Fire Services Department Director Andy Yeung told reporters.
Police earlier confirmed they had received numerous reports of residents trapped inside the buildings but released no further details. Lo Hiu-fung, a Taipo District Council member, told TVB that many of those unable to escape were believed to be elderly.
District authorities have opened emergency shelters for displaced residents. One man, who gave his surname as Wu, told TVB: “I’ve given up thinking about my property. Watching it burn like that was really frustrating.”
...Tai Po, a suburban area near the border with Shenzhen, is known for dense housing estates like the one affected. The fire drew renewed attention to Hong Kong’s widespread use of bamboo scaffolding at construction and renovation sites. Although common in the city, the government announced earlier this year that it would begin phasing out bamboo scaffolding on public projects over safety concerns.
This article contains reporting by The Associated Press
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