At least 13 dead as huge fire rips through Hong Kong housing estate

At least 13 people including a firefighter were killed and 33 others injured in a fiery blaze that ravaged a housing estate in Hong Kong’s northeastern district of Tai Po on Wednesday, as scorching flames engulfed bamboo scaffolding across seven residential blocks.

An unknown number of residents of the Wang Fuk Court estate were still believed to be trapped inside as of early Thursday morning with the whereabouts of at least 70 reportedly unclear, while distraught families, fearing the worst, awaited news in community halls overnight.

Nearly 10 hours after it first broke, the fire was still soaring and snaking through windows unleashing its wrath on the wooden structures and green mesh blanketing the buildings that had been under extensive renovations since July last year.

Firefighters said they were unable to reach the roofs of the 31-storey flats as temperatures had soared to excessive levels.

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Firefighter, 11 others dead as blaze engulfs housing blocks in Hong Kong’s Tai Po

Firefighter, 11 others dead as blaze engulfs housing blocks in Hong Kong’s Tai Po

In a late evening statement, President Xi Jinping expressed his condolences to the victims and to the firefighter who perished in the line of duty and offered his sympathies to their families and all affected residents as he “called for all-out efforts to extinguish the fire and minimise casualties and losses”.

As residents sought out family members still inside the buildings, a man surnamed Fung looked weary as he said he had no idea if his 80-year-old mother-in-law was still inside her home.