At least 40 people were killed and hundreds reported missing after a massive fire engulfed a residential apartment complex in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district on Wednesday, officials said.
The fire broke out at Wang Fuk Court shortly before 3 p.m. local time Wednesday and was upgraded to a No. 5 alarm, city officials said.
Three men associated with the construction firm in charge of the renovation at the housing complex have been arrested and are under investigation in connection with the fire, Hong Kong police said during a press conference early Thursday morning local time.
At least 40 people were dead, police said, as the death toll continued to rise in the hours since the fire started.
Over two dozen were injured, including many who were transferred to two local hospitals, fire officials said.
Some 279 people have been reported missing, Hong Kong leader John Lee said during a press briefing earlier Thursday.
One of the dead was a firefighter who had been called to the scene from nearby Sha Tin Fire Station, according to Andy Yeung, the director of Fire Services.
Yeung in a statement named the firefighter as Ho Wai-ho, 37, adding he “was found collapsed at the scene” of the fire. He was rushed to the hospital, where he later died, Yeung said.
“The fire has resulted in many casualties, including a fireman who died in the line of duty,” Lee said in an earlier statement posted to social media. “I express my deep sadness and my deep condolences to the families of the dead and the injured.”
Secretary for Security Tang Ping-keung said the fire department was “doing its utmost to put out the fire,” he said.
More than 140 fire engines and over 800 firefighters and paramedics have been deployed to put out this fire, with drones also in use, officials said.
The blaze is under control in four buildings, while emergency responders were still fighting active fires in three of the other buildings, police said. Seven of the eight buildings in the complex were impacted by the fire.
Police said they suspect that the mesh used during the renovation was not up to standard, and the company installed a large amount of Styrofoam in the windows and the outer walls, which acted as an accelerant once the fire began. The mesh and the Styrofoam were found in the one building that wasn’t impacted by the fire, police said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed his condolences and sympathies to the victims’ families and those affected in a statement. He said he ordered authorities to “do everything possible to ensure search and rescue operations, medical treatment for the injured, and post-disaster relief, and to provide necessary assistance to relevant departments and local authorities to minimize casualties and losses.”
