“At least 94 people died in a fire in a high-rise building in Hong Kong, and more than 200 are missing.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Source: CNN, citing local media and Hong Kong officials
Details: At least 94 people have died and many more are missing after a fire engulfed a Hong Kong apartment complex. This is the worst disaster in the city in recent decades.
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At least two residential buildings are still burning more than a day after the fire broke out, according to local media, and rescuers say extremely high temperatures are preventing them from reaching trapped residents.
As the state broadcaster RTHK reports with reference to the Hong Kong Fire Service, a man was rescued from the 16th floor of a residential complex on Thursday.
Many of the more than 4,000 people living in the Tai Po public housing complex were aged 65 and over.
The exact cause of the fire is not yet known, but a criminal investigation has been launched.
CNN notes that the complex was undergoing renovations and was surrounded by bamboo scaffolding and safety nets, a construction technique widely used in Hong Kong and parts of mainland China. Authorities are also investigating whether flammable materials, including polystyrene sheets covering the windows of many of the apartments, may have contributed to the fire.
Rescuers are focusing their efforts on three of the seven affected blocks, where authorities said more than 200 people were still missing as of Thursday.
Firefighters plan to enter all residential units to assess whether anyone is still inside, said Derek Armstrong Chan, deputy director of the Hong Kong Fire Service. These operations should be completed by 9 a.m. Friday local time.
He added that extinguishing the fire took “longer than expected.”
More than 800 firefighters, 128 fire engines and 57 ambulances were used to fight the fire.
Hong Kong police arrested three men on charges of “gross negligence,” a police official said.
Prehistory:
- Earlier it was reported that at least 44 people died in Hong Kong, and 279 were considered missing due to a fire that engulfed several high-rise residential buildings.
- Later it became known that the number of dead increased to 55.