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A fire spread across multiple highrise apartment buildings in a Hong Kong housing complex on Wednesday, killing 13 people and leaving others trapped inside, authorities said.
Nine people were declared dead on the scene and four others who were sent to the hospital were later confirmed dead, Hong Kong’s fire services told reporters. About 700 people have been evacuated to temporary shelters, they said.
Video from the scene showed at least five buildings close to each other ablaze, with bright flames and smoke shooting out of many of the apartments’ windows as night fell. Firefighters were aiming water at the intense flames from high up on ladder trucks.
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 complex in the city’s Tai Po district. Records show the housing complex consisted of eight blocks of housing and almost 2,000 apartments.
Smoke rises from the Hong Kong housing complex as night begins to fall on Wednesday. District officials in Tai Po have opened temporary shelters for people left homeless by the fire. (Chan Long Hei/The Associated Press)
The dead included one firefighter and another was being treated for heat exhaustion, Fire Services Department Director Andy Yeung told reporters.
Police said they had received multiple reports of people trapped in the affected buildings, but did not provide details.
The blaze was reported mid-afternoon, and after nightfall, authorities upgraded it to a Level 5 alarm, the highest level of severity, the fire department said.
District officials in Tai Po have opened temporary shelters for people left homeless by the fire.
First responders are shown Wednesday directing activity around Wang Fuk Court. (Chan Long Hei/The Associated Press)
Tai Po is a suburban area in the New Territories, in the northern part of Hong Kong and near the border with the mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen.
Bamboo scaffolding is a common sight in Hong Kong at building construction and renovation projects, though the government said earlier this year that it would start phasing it out for public projects because of safety concerns.