A devastating fire in a Hong Kong residential block has resulted in at least 83 fatalities, with rescuers continuing to search for survivors. Firefighters battled intense conditions for over a day, and authorities expect the fire to be extinguished soon. Hundreds of residents remain unaccounted for, and survivors recount harrowing escapes and the lack of early warnings.
A fire that has ripped through a residential block in Hong Kong and resulted in the deaths of at least 83 people is expected to be extinguished "tonight", Hong Kong authorities said early on Friday morning.
Rescuers continue to search the buildings in the hope that there are survivors among the approximately 300 unaccounted-for residents of theFirefighters with flashlights search for survivors inside a burned building at Wang Fuk Court.Rescuers battled intense heat and thick smoke for more than a day as they fought to reach residents feared trapped on the upper floors. Video showed firefighters with flashlights searching through the charred remains of the towers on Thursday night local time. Orange flames were still seen from inside several windows, though the whole complex was now largely a blackened ruin. A distraught woman carrying her daughter's graduation photograph searched for her child outside a shelter, one of eight that authorities said are housing 900 residents."She and her father are still not out yet," said the 52-year-old, who gave only her surname, Ng, as she sobbed. "They didn't have water to save our building." Resident Lawrence Lee was waiting for news about his wife, who he believed was still trapped in their apartment. "When the fire started, I told her on the phone to escape. But once she left the flat, the corridor and stairs were all filled with smoke and it was all dark, so she had no choice but to go back to the flat," he said, as he waited in one of the shelters overnight.that he just happened to look out a window and saw flames were already rising up the building next door. He and his wife barely escaped their 19th-floor apartment in time. "Nobody warned us," he said. "No alarm went off. We escaped by ourselves."Firefighters have been trying to control the flames since midafternoon Wednesday, when the fire was believed to have started in bamboo scaffolding and construction netting and then spread across seven of the complex's eight buildings. Fires in four buildings had been effectively put out, with the remaining three towers under control, authorities said Thursday afternoon.on suspicion of manslaughter over the city's worst fire in nearly 80 years. Police arrested two directors and an engineering consultant of Prestige Construction, a firm contracted to perform maintenance on the buildings. Police said those arrested were suspected of manslaughter for using unsafe materials."We have reason to believe that the company's responsible parties were grossly negligent, which led to this accident and caused the fire to spread uncontrollably, resulting in major casualties," police superintendent Eileen Chung said.Police seized bidding documents, a list of employees, 14 computers and three mobile phones in a raid of the company's office, the government added. The confirmed death toll rose to 83 as of midnight in Hong Kong on Thursday, the South China Morning Post reported, citing the fire department. That made it Hong Kong's deadliest fire since 1948, when 176 people were killed in a warehouse blaze.The government said in the very early hours on Thursday that 279 people were listed as missing, but that figure has not been updated for 24 hours. In a telegram to Hong Kong's bishop, Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-Yan, Pope Leo sent "spiritual solidarity to all those suffering from the effects of this calamity, especially the injured and the families who grieve". Hong Kong's leader, John Lee, said the government would set up a HK$300 million fund to help residents while companies including automakers Xiaomi, Xpeng and Geely as well as the charity foundation of Alibaba's founder Jack Ma and Tencent announced donations. On the second night after the blaze, dozens of evacuees set up mattresses in a nearby mall, with many saying official evacuation centres should be saved for those with greater need. People - from elderly residents to schoolchildren - wrapped themselves in duvets and huddled in tents outside a McDonald's restaurant and convenience shops as a steady stream of volunteers handed out snacks and toiletries. The eight blocks of the tightly packed complex of 2000 apartments were home to more than 4600 people in the financial hub, which is struggling to overcome chronic shortages of affordable housing. Police also said they found foam material sealing windows on one unaffected building, installed in year-long maintenance work.with metal scaffolding as a safety measure.
Hong Kong Fire Residential Deaths Rescue
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