A fire spread between several high-rise buildings in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
Black smoke billowed over the territory’s skyline, as firefighters struggled to contain the vertical fire. As the rescue effort continued after dark, the towers blazed orange.
At least 36 people were killed, and an unknown number of people were feared trapped inside.
As the disaster unfolds, here’s what we know about the fire in Hong Kong.
What do we know about the start of the fire?
The blaze broke out at a dense complex in Hong Kong’s northern Tai Po district around 2:50 p.m. The complex, Wang Fuk Court, had about 2,000 apartments in the 32-story towers.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
The towers were covered in bamboo scaffolding, which is widely used in Hong Kong for construction and repairs. In October, the fire department attributed the rapid spread of another fire at a downtown office building to the bamboo scaffolding wrapped around it.
Last spring, the Hong Kong government announced plans to phase out bamboo in favor of fire-resistant steel.
What do we know about the rescue efforts?
The towers continued to burn into the early hours of Thursday. Firefighters struggled to reach the tallest flames while using hoses, and the ladders from fire trucks appeared to reach only halfway up the buildings.
It was unclear how many people were trapped inside the buildings, and local leaders said they were in contact with families still inside the complex.
Falling debris and scaffolding made it difficult for firefighters to get into the buildings, Hong Kong’s fire department said at a news conference. The heat from blaze added to the danger. The fire department said that it had sent 760 rescuers to the site.
“The temperatures inside the buildings concerned are very high, so it’s quite difficult for us to enter the building and go upstairs and conduct firefighting and rescue operation,” Derek Armstrong Chan, deputy director of the Hong Kong Fire Services Department, said.
How are authorities responding?
Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, urged “all-out rescue efforts to minimize loss,” according to Xinhua, the state-run news agency. He also instructed national government agencies to help local authorities in Hong Kong.
Mr. Xi, who typically issues such pronouncements only after disasters with considerable loss of life, also pledged to help the survivors rebuild.
Hong Kong’s government said it had opened temporary shelters at nearby community centers and at a school to house displaced residents.
Lynsey Chutel is a Times reporter based in London who covers breaking news in Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
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