Developing | Xi Jinping sends condolences as at least 13 die in massive Hong Kong blaze
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. President Xi Jinping has expressed his condolences to the victims of a raging fire in Hong Kong’s Tai Po neighbourhood in a late evening statement, according to state broadcaster CCTV. Thirteen people including a…
President Xi Jinping has expressed his condolences to the victims of a raging fire in Hong Kong’s Tai Po neighbourhood in a late evening statement, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Thirteen people including a firefighter were killed and at least 15 others critically injured in an inferno ravaging a housing estate in Tai Po, as flames lashed over bamboo scaffolding across seven blocks with multiple residents trapped inside.
Huge plumes of dark smoke billowed high into the sky at the scene at Wang Fuk Court on Wednesday, with the flames quickly spreading to seven out of eight blocks in the estate.
Police said on Wednesday that they had received multiple reports of people trapped in a building where the blaze started, with a man and a woman reportedly unconscious and suffering from burns.
The blaze was initially classified as a No 1 alarm fire but was quickly raised to No 4 by 3.34pm and then to the top-level No 5 at 6.22pm. In Hong Kong, fires are rated on a scale of one to five, with higher numbers indicating greater severity.
Footage from the scene shows bamboo scaffolding outside several flats of the building engulfed in flames, with burning sections of green scaffolding mesh falling to the ground.
Follow our live updates on the fire below.
Reporting by Leopold Chen, Danny Mok, Vivian Au, Jess Ma, Lo Hoi-ying, Jeffie Lam, Matthew Cheng and Fiona Sun.
