A deadly fire swept through seven high-rise apartment buildings in a Hong Kong housing complex on Wednesday, killing at least 13 people and leaving others trapped, in what authorities described as the city’s worst blaze in years.
Nine victims were declared dead at the scene, while four others who were hospitalized later succumbed to their injuries. At least 15 others sustained injuries, and around 700 residents were evacuated to temporary shelters.
The fire erupted in the Tai Po district in the New Territories mid-afternoon, quickly spreading across bamboo scaffolding and construction netting installed around the exterior of the buildings.
The housing complex comprises eight buildings, nearly 2,000 apartments, and houses approximately 4,800 people.
As night fell, bright flames and thick smoke poured from multiple windows, with the fire spreading to nearby structures.
Authorities deployed hundreds of firefighters, police officers, and paramedics, using ladder trucks to douse the flames from above.
Firefighters faced extremely challenging conditions, with debris and scaffolding falling, and dangerously high temperatures inside the buildings, according to Derek Armstrong Chan, deputy director of Fire Services (Operations).
The Fire Services Department elevated the response to a level 5 alarm, the highest severity rating, as the blaze raged late into the night. Firefighters deployed 128 fire trucks and 57 ambulances in the emergency operation.
The fire is believed to have started on external scaffolding of one building and spread both inside and to adjacent buildings, possibly exacerbated by windy conditions. Authorities said numerous emergency calls were received and some residents remained trapped as of Wednesday night.
Among the dead was one firefighter, while another was hospitalized for heat exhaustion, Fire Services Director Andy Yeung confirmed.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping expressed condolences to the fallen firefighter and extended sympathies to the families of the victims, according to state broadcaster CCTV. He called for all possible efforts to minimize casualties and losses.
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