The death toll in Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in nearly seven decades climbed to 55 as the inferno was brought under control after more than 24 hours.
Nearly 280 people were still unreachable or believed to be trapped in the Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po district, with authorities sharing pictures of the dead to help families identify their loved ones. More than 70 people were injured.
Hong Kong chief executive John Lee told a news conference that the fire across seven buildings in the complex was “basically under control”.
Follow live updates from the Hong Kong fire here
The fire that began at around 2.50pm local time on Wednesday continued to blaze through the night and throughout the day on Thursday.
The fire in the last of the three buildings was controlled by evening.
Authorities said the fire began in an external bamboo scaffolding, which was being removed for safety reasons, before spreading inside the 32-storey towers.
Rescue work was hampered by extreme heat, falling debris and strong winds fanning the flames across the highly flammable bamboo scaffolding and plastic netting.
Nearly 800 firefighters and 57 ambulances were mobilised, with president Xi Jinping calling for an all-out effort to tackle the blaze.
Footage of the housing complex still showed isolated flames flickering through apartment windows.
Police arrested three construction executives, aged 52 to 68, on suspicion of murder, citing “gross negligence” by the company responsible for the scaffolding.
Authorities said the exact cause of the fire remained under investigation.
Mr Lee announced emergency measures, setting up a HK$300m (£29m) assistance fund, providing nearly 1,800 housing units for displaced residents and cash relief of HK$10,000 (£920) per household.
Mr Lee also said all government-organised celebrations would be cancelled or postponed.
All remaining Legislative Council election forums and campaign events have been suspended, although no decision has yet been made on whether the 7 December election will be delayed.
Residents described scenes of chaos as the fire ripped through the apartment blocks.
Harry Cheung, 66, who lived at Block Two in one of the complexes for about 40 years, said that he heard a loud noise about 2.45pm local time and saw fire erupt in a nearby block.
"I immediately went back to pack up my things," he said. "I don't even know how I feel right now. I'm just thinking about where I'm going to sleep tonight."
One 71-year-old resident surnamed Wong broke down in tears, saying his wife was trapped inside.
Some 4,600 people lived in flats across the complex.
The dead included a firefighter, identified as 37-year-old Ho Wai Ho, who was found collapsed after losing contact with his crew.
Director of fire services Andy Yeung described Ho as a “dedicated” and “gallant” firefighter.
Indonesia's foreign ministry said on Thursday two migrant workers from the country "in the domestic sector" died in the fire while others were injured.
Some 900 people had to be evacuated to nine temporary shelters. Residents told the local media that fire alarms had not sounded, potentially delaying the response.
Lo Hiu Fung, a Tai Po District Council member, told a local TV station that most of the residents trapped were believed to be elderly people.
"I've given up thinking about my property," one resident who only provided his surname, Wu, told TVB. "Watching it burn like that was really frustrating."
Derek Armstrong Chan, deputy director of fire services, said rescue efforts were being hampered by debris and scaffolding still falling from the burning buildings.
“The temperature inside the buildings concerned is very high,” he said. “It’s difficult for us to enter the building and go upstairs to conduct firefighting and rescue operations.”
The blaze was upgraded to level 5 severity, the highest, as night fell. It was the first time in 17 years that a level 5 fire had hit Hong Kong.
Thirteen schools in the area remained closed on Thursday, with authorities warning it could take all day to get the fire completely under control.
The buildings, erected in 1983, were undergoing renovations when the fire broke out.
Hong Kong is one of the last places in the world to still use bamboo scaffolding in construction.
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.
Wednesday’s fire was the deadliest in Hong Kong since 1948, when 176 people were killed following an explosion on the ground floor of a five-storey warehouse containing “dangerous goods” like film, asphalt and other combustibles.
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