 "Hong Kong high-rise fire’s death toll rises to 44, hundreds remain missing – Firstpost")
The death toll from a fire at a high-rise building in Hong Kong has risen to at least 44. The fire is still burning and hundreds of people are missing.
The Hong Kong Fire Department has said that 44 people have finally died and hundreds are missing in the fire in the high-rise building.
According to AFP, the fire was still burning at the time of writing.
Police said at least three people have been arrested on suspicion of murder in the case.
The fire broke out on Wednesday afternoon at the eight-building complex, which houses about 2,000 apartments. The faults first hit bamboo scaffoldings on several apartment blocks in Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong’s northern district of Tai Po.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said at least 900 people had been evacuated from the territory.
An AFP reporter heard loud cracking sounds at the site of the fire on Wednesday, possibly from burning bamboo. They also saw that thick plumes of smoke were coming out of the buildings and flames and ashes were reaching the sky.
Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated places in the world and is notorious for cramped housing.
It is still unclear how many people are missing
A police officer at a temporary shelter told AFP it was unclear how many people were missing as residents were still arriving late at night to report missing family members. Furthermore, a local said that there were many elderly people in the area.
A 65-year-old man, who gave the news agency only his last name Yuen, said many neighbors in the complex were elderly and may not have been active.
Yuen said, “The windows were closed due to maintenance, (some people) did not know there was a fire and were told by neighbors to evacuate via phone calls. I am devastated. There has been property damage and loss of life, and even a firefighter died.”
Derek Armstrong Chan, deputy director of fire service operations, said temperatures at the scene were extremely high and there were some floors where fire service personnel were unable to reach people requesting help, but they would keep trying.
Chan said the fire was likely to spread from one building to another due to wind and flowing debris. He said officials are investigating the cause of the fire.
It is essential in any investigation to look at the materials on the exterior of buildings, which may have caused the fire to spread more rapidly than usual.
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