Death toll from Hong Kong fire up to 44

The death toll from the fire in a Hong Kong residential complex has risen to 44, with 45 more people being in serious condition, the city's firefighting service said, Report informs.

According to it, the number of those injured has climbed to 100.

The local police have detained three people - two senior executives of the company contracted to repair the buildings and an engineer.

According to the police, materials used during the works did not meet fire safety requirements.

The fire broke out in the Wang Fuk Court complex, a series of high-rise buildings in the Tai Po neighborhood of Hong Kong's New Territories.

The flames engulfed the bamboo scaffolding that had been erected for cosmetic repairs.

The complex has nearly 2,000 apartments and is home to about 4,000 people.

07:14

Thirteen people including a firefighter have been killed and at least 16 others are critically injured in a fiery blaze ravaging Hong Kong's Tai Po neighbourhood, as flames lash over bamboo scaffolding across all eight blocks of a housing estate with multiple other residents trapped inside, Report informs via South China Morning Post.

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 at least four blocks in the estate and later the entire cluster.

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 3.34 pm and then to the top-level No. 5 at 6.22 pm. (GMT+8) 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.