At least 55 dead and hundreds missing as seven Hong Kong skyscrapers catch fire with three arrested
The Hong Kong government reported dozens of deaths with hundreds more people missing in the inferno
At least 55 people have been killed after a huge fire engulfed seven tower blocks in Hong Kong – trapping locals in their apartments.
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Local police have arrested three men on suspicion of manslaughter, according to reports.
Flames ripped through the 31-floor residential high-rises of Wang Fuk Court – home to 4,000 people in the Tai Po district – with almost 800 fire fighters sent to try and contain the inferno.
Flames first took hold in three blocks, but spread to at least four neighbouring buildings over the afternoon.
There have been multiple reports of people trapped in the buildings and on roofs. More than people are currently unaccounted for.
Local authorities confirmed on Thursday that the death toll stood at 55, with a further 72 injured.
Video from the scene showed the tightly packed buildings ablaze, with flames coming out of many of the apartments' windows.
Firefighters were aiming water at the blaze from high up on ladder trucks. They have declared it a category five fire, the most serious.
The raging fire sent up a column of flames and thick smoke as it spread on bamboo scaffolding and construction netting that had been set up around the exterior of the complex in the city's Tai Po district.
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Records show the housing complex consisted of eight blocks housing almost 2,000 apartments.
The Hong Kong government reported four deaths and said three other people were taken to hospital.
Two of the people injured were in critical condition and the other person was stable, a brief statement said.
Police said they had received multiple reports of people trapped in the affected buildings.
Local media said that one of the dead was a firefighter, but that could not be immediately confirmed.
The blaze was reported mid-afternoon and upgraded to the second highest level of severity, the Fire Services Department said.
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.
Bamboo scaffolding is a common sight in Hong Kong at building construction and renovation projects, though the government said earlier this year that it would start phasing it out for public projects because of safety concerns.