Firefighters were still dousing a devastating fire Thursday which ripped through a Hong Kong high-rise complex, killing at least 44 people and leaving hundreds missing according to authorities.
The inferno -- the financial hub's worst in decades -- took hold on Wednesday afternoon in an eight-building housing estate with 2,000 apartments and sent shockwaves through the city, which has some of the world's most densely populated and tallest residential blocks.
Police said early on Thursday they arrested three men in connection with the fire, after flammable materials left during maintenance work caused the blaze "to spread rapidly beyond control".
AFP journalists at the scene just after daybreak on Thursday saw some flats still burning, although the blaze had noticeably dimmed during the early hours of the morning.
Intense flames first took hold on bamboo scaffolding on several apartment blocks of Wang Fuk Court on Wednesday in the northern district of Tai Po, which was undergoing estate-wide repairs.
An AFP reporter heard loud cracking sounds, possibly from the burning bamboo, and saw thick plumes of smoke billowing from the buildings as flames and ash reached high into the sky.
A 65-year-old resident surnamed Yuen said he had lived in the complex for more than four decades and that many of his neighbours were elderly and might not be mobile.
"The windows were closed because of the maintenance, (some people) didn't know there was a fire and had to be told to evacuate via phone calls by neighbours," Yuen told AFP. "I'm devastated."
Hong Kong's fire department raised the death toll to 44 on Thursday morning.
Among the dead was a 37-year-old firefighter, who was found with burns on his face half an hour after losing contact with colleagues, according to the fire service director Andy Yeung.
City leader John Lee said in the early hours of Thursday that 279 were unaccounted for, though firefighters said later that they had established contact with some of those people.
Lee said more than 900 people sought refuge at temporary shelters.
- 'Unable to reach people' -
A police officer at a temporary shelter told AFP it was unclear how many people were unaccounted for because residents were still trickling in late into the night to report missing family members.
Sections of charred scaffolding fell from the burning blocks and flames could be seen inside apartments, sometimes belching out through windows into the night sky, casting an eerie orange glow on surrounding buildings.
"The temperature at the scene is very high and there are some floors where we have been unable to reach people who requested help, but we will keep trying," said Derek Armstrong Chan, the deputy director of fire service operations.
He said the fire likely spread from one building to another due to the wind and drifting debris, although he added that authorities are investigating the cause of the blaze.
Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed condolences to the victims, including "the firefighter who died in the line of duty", according to state media.
"He offered sympathies to the families of the victims and those affected by the disaster, and called for making every effort to extinguish the fire and minimise casualties and losses," state broadcaster CCTV said.
Lee said he was "deeply saddened" and that all government departments were assisting residents affected by the fire.
- 'Dare not leave' -
A Tai Po resident surnamed So, 57, said the fire was "heartbreaking".
"There's nothing that can be done about the property. We can only hope that everyone, no matter old or young, can return safely," So told AFP.
An apartment owner in his 40s who did not want to give his name told AFP that the government needed to help those made homeless by the blaze.
"The fire is not yet under control and I dare not leave, and I don't know what I can do," he said.
Residents were seen being evacuated via large coaches, with local media reporting that adjacent blocks were also being cleared.
Sections of a nearby highway were also closed by the firefighting operation.
Deadly fires were once a regular scourge in densely populated Hong Kong, especially in poorer neighbourhoods.
However, safety measures have been ramped up in recent decades and such fires have become much less commonplace.
