At least four people have died in a massive fire that ripped through multiple residential buildings in Hong Kong’s northern Tai Po district. The fire quickly engulfed the densely populated Wong Fook Court complex on Wednesday afternoon, quickly blanketing the area in black smoke.
Local media reported that some people may still be trapped in the 31-story buildings. Two people were taken to hospital with serious burns, and several firefighters involved in the rescue operation were also injured.
The government said the fire intensity was raised to a ‘Level-5’ alert at 6:22 pm local time, up from ‘Level-4’ three hours earlier. As of evening, nine people had been taken to hospital – four dead, three in critical condition.
The fire department said the fire was reported at 2:51 pm and was declared a level-4 alarm at 3:34 pm. The eight-block complex has about 2,000 flats, many of which had bamboo scaffolding on the outside for a period of time—which is believed to have increased the risk of the fire spreading.
Local authorities have closed a large section of Tai Po Road due to the fire. As it is one of the city’s main thoroughfares, several bus routes are being diverted.