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The raging fire sent up a column of flames and thick smoke as it spread on bamboo scaffolding and construction netting that had been set up around the exterior of the housing complex in Tai Po district in the New Territories.
In Hong Kong, a fire has killed at least four people after tearing through a complex of residential high-rise buildings on Wednesday. Teams of firefighters have been attempting to douse the flames at Wang Fuk Court, a housing complex made up of eight blocks in the city's Tai Po district in the north east.
The fire department said it received reports at 2:51 p.m. (0651 GMT) of a fire in the residential complex. It was upgraded to a Number 4 alarm at 3:34 p.m. and as night fell it was declared a number five-alarm fire, the highest level. Earlier, local media also reported that an unknown number of people were trapped in the 31-storey towers — home to around 2,000 residential apartments — although it is unclear as to whether that remains the case. Taipo District Council member, Lo Hiu-fung, told local broadcaster TVB that most of the residents trapped in the fire were believed to be elderly people, the AP news agency reported, although this has not yet been confirmed by authorities. A number of towers currently burning have bamboo scaffolding and construction netting fitted to their exterior. TVB reported that the complex was undergoing major renovations.
