Four Killed, Scores Trapped As Fire Razes Hong Kong High-Rise Buildings

A massive fire tore through several high-rise apartment blocks in a Hong Kong housing complex on Wednesday, killing four people and trapping many others inside.

According to CNN, at least five nearby buildings were burnt simultaneously. Firefighters battled the fire using ladder trucks.

The fire spread rapidly through bamboo scaffolding and construction netting that covered the exterior of the buildings in Wang Fuk Court, located in Tai Po district. The housing estate is made up of eight residential blocks containing nearly 2,000 apartments.

Authorities confirmed four fatalities and said three more people were taken to the hospital. Two of the injured were reported to be in critical condition.

Police said they received numerous distress calls from residents trapped inside the burning structures. Local media reported that one of those killed may have been a firefighter, though this has not been verified.

The fire, reported in the mid-afternoon, was quickly raised to a No. 4 alarm (Hong Kong’s second-highest emergency level) due to its intensity and scale, the Fire Services Department said.

Tai Po sits in the New Territories region near the border with mainland China’s Shenzhen.

Bamboo scaffolding remains widely used in Hong Kong for construction and renovation works, but the government announced earlier this year that it would begin phasing it out on public projects over safety concerns.