t least 36 dead, nearly 300 missing after fire engulfs residential high-rise buildings in Hong Kong

At least 36 people were killed and 279 were missing after Hong Kong's deadliest fire in three decades started to rip through high-rise residential towers on Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

A firefighter was among the 36 killed, and 29 people were in hospital, Hong Kong chief executive John Lee told reporters early Thursday. Some 900 people were in shelters.

"The priority is to extinguish the fire and rescue the residents who are trapped. The second is to support the injured. The third is to support and recover. Then, we'll launch a thorough investigation," Lee told reporters.

Flames and thick smoke still engulfed the 32-storey towers as rescue workers swarmed the site in the northern Tai Po district.

The cause of the blaze was not immediately known.

But it was fanned by green construction mesh and bamboo scaffolding, which the government began phasing out in March for safety reasons.

From the mainland, China's President Xi Jinping urged an "all-out effort" to extinguish the fire and to minimise casualties and losses, China's state broadcaster CCTV said.

Working through the night, firefighters were struggling to reach upper floors of the Wang Fuk Court housing complex, which has 2,000 apartments in eight blocks, due to the intense heat.

FIREFIGHTER AMONG THE DEAD

One resident surnamed Wong, 71, broke down in tears and sobbed, saying his wife was trapped inside one of the buildings.

A firefighter surnamed Ho was among the 13 killed, the director of Fire Services said, and more than ten people have been injured.

Harry Cheung, 66, who has lived at Block Two in one of the complexes for more than 40 years, said he heard “a very loud noise at around 2:45 p.m.” (0645 GMT) and saw a fire erupt in a nearby block.

“I immediately went back to pack up my things,” he said.

“I don’t even know how I feel right now. I’m just thinking about where I’m going to sleep tonight because I probably won’t be able to go back home.”

People gathered on a nearby overhead walkway, watching in dismay and taking pictures as smoke billowed from the buildings, some of which were clad in bamboo scaffolding, with social media posts from residents saying the units had been under renovation for around a year.

Frames of scaffolding were seen tumbling to the ground as firefighters battled the blaze, while scores of fire engines and ambulances lined the road below the development, according to Reuters witnesses.

Wang Fuk Court is one of many high-rise housing complexes in Hong Kong, which is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Tai Po, located near the border with mainland China, is an established suburban district with a population of about 300,000.

Owning a home is a distant dream for many in Hong Kong, one of the world’s most expensive housing markets and where residential rents are hovering around record highs.

The complex is under the government’s subsidised home ownership scheme. It has been occupied since 1983, according to property agency websites.

The fire department said it received reports at 2:51 p.m. that a fire had broken out in Wang Fuk Court. By 6:22 p.m. it had been upgraded to a No. 5 alarm, the city’s highest.

Strong winds fanned the flames causing the blaze to spread to seven of the complex’s eight blocks.

Hong Kong is one of the last places in the world where bamboo is still widely used for scaffolding in construction.

The government moved to start phasing out the city’s use of its bamboo scaffolding in March, citing safety. It announced that 50% of public construction works would be required to use metal frames instead.

Hong Kong’s Transport Department said that due to the fire, an entire section of the Tai Po road, one of Hong Kong’s two main highways, has been closed and buses are being diverted.

Five people died after a fire broke out in a densely populated residential building in Hong Kong’s bustling Kowloon district in April last year.

Y.Y. Chan, a 68-year-old resident waiting outside the development, said even though the fire in his block had been extinguished, “seeing the fires all around still makes you feel terrible.”

“It’s not like we can really move anywhere…we just have to face reality.”