Death toll rises in Hong Kong residential area fire
Thirteen people were killed after a huge fire engulfed a residential area in the Tai Po area of Hong Kong on Wednesday afternoon, according to a press release issued by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, Xinhua reports.
The Fire Services Department of the HKSAR government was notified of the accident at around 2:51 p.m. local time.
Due to the fierce blaze, the department raised the alert to No. 5 alarm fire at 6:22 p.m. local time. Rescue operations are still ongoing.
As previously reported, the blaze erupted at the Wang Fuk Court housing estate in the Tai Po district and was quickly raised to a number four alarm, the second highest fire alert level in Hong Kong. The fire affected at least three of the estate’s eight residential blocks, which together contain more than 1,900 apartments.