Four people were killed after a No. 4 alarm fire engulfed a high-rise estate in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district.
The blaze spread rapidly along bamboo scaffolding, trapping several residents and injuring others.
Emergency crews rushed victims to hospital, with multiple people reported in critical condition.
At least four people have died after a major fire broke out at a high-rise housing complex in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district on Wednesday, authorities said, leaving others trapped inside.
The city’s Fire Services Department confirmed four fatalities and three injuries, while police had earlier reported eight victims. The reason for the differing figures was not immediately clear, reported TNIE.
Hong Kong media outlets suggested that one of the deceased was a firefighter, though this could not be independently confirmed. According to The New Indian Express, live video from the scene showed firefighters aiming hoses at the intense flames from ladder trucks as thick smoke billowed from the building.
The fire, which reportedly started in the midafternoon, quickly spread along bamboo scaffolding erected around the exterior of the complex. The blaze was raised to a No. 4 alarm, the second-highest level of severity in the city, TNIE reported.
Police said they had received multiple reports of residents trapped inside the affected buildings. Tai Po, where the fire broke out, is a suburban area in the northern New Territories, close to the border with Shenzhen in mainland China.
Reported TNIE, the fire sent a column of flames into the air, prompting an immediate response from emergency services.
(With inputs from The New Indian Express)
