Shelters are still taking in embattled survivors as some are desperately trying to find missing loved ones.
By Catholics for Catholics
In one of Hong Kong’s most harrowing fires in recent memory, residents of a 2000-unit high-rise complex eagerly awaited news of their loved ones at a temporary shelter as one of the city’s deadliest blazes in decades engulfed the building.
Newsmax reported that the fire has taken at least 44 lives, with authorities reporting that over 279 people remain unaccounted for.
The fire started on Wednesday afternoon and was still burning in the early hours of Thursday, shocking the financial hub with some of the globe’s most heavily populated and tallest apartment blocks.
As thick smoke wafted upward from buildings, the sounds of bamboo scaffolding burning and exploding could be heard at the site.
“Has anyone been rescued?” a man at the scene asked into his cell phone.
The aid shelter has been open since Wednesday evening, as residents kept appearing at the place to report family members they had lost contact with. Some sat confused, staring with reddened eyes at cell phone screens as they hoped for news of missing loved ones.
At least 44 people have been confirmed dead following a massive fire that swept through apartment blocks in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong. Authorities say 279 residents are missing as emergency teams continue rescue operations.
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Looking to help them endure the night cold, social workers distributed blankets and pillows to the elderly.
A police officer told AFP on Wednesday evening that it was unclear how many people were unaccounted for because residents were still trickling in late into the night to report.
In densely populated Hong Kong, lethal fires were once a customary bane, especially in poorer neighborhoods.
Nevertheless, authorities have ramped up safety measures in recent decades and such fires have become much less common.
But residents nearby said they had never expected the flames would spread to other buildings with the wind and burn all night long.
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