Hong Kong residents react as deadly fire tears through housing estate

“As you get closer the temperature increases, you can feel it and the smoke is really thick.”

Student Thomas Liu was one of many people drawn to the scene of a deadly fire that destroyed much of the eight-block Wang Fuk Court housing complex in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district.

At least 36 people have died so far in Wednesday’s devastating fire, and that number is expected to rise as hundreds remain missing. The reason is not yet known.

Speaking to the BBC, Thomas said about the fire: “This is a disaster” and said he saw a body being taken away.

“Many people sent us WhatsApp messages or called us to say their relatives were still inside or they couldn’t find them,” Tai Po district councilor Mui Siu-fung told BBC Chinese.

More than a thousand people were forced to evacuate the property as the flames spread, with some heading to centers set up to shelter them. Police also moved people away from nearby buildings.

The fire is slowly being brought under control, but officials say they do not know when the fire will be completely extinguished. While many people watched silently, flames were seen coming out of some apartments.

One woman said her friends were living inside the building and were waiting to see if they could come out.

Harry Cheung, who has lived in the second block of the Wang Fuk Court complex for more than 40 years, told Reuters he heard a “very loud noise” and saw a fire break out in a nearby block.

“I immediately went back to collect my things,” the 66-year-old resident 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 home.”

A woman in her sixties, surnamed Kam, who lives in neighboring Kwong Fuk Court, told the South China Morning Post (SCMP) that several of her friends living in Wang Fuk Court were accounted for, but not all of them.

Ms Kam said a friend of hers took a nap every afternoon and may have been sleeping when the fire broke out at 14:51 local time (06:51 GMT), and said the woman’s daughters had not yet been able to contact her.

Another resident, Jason Kong, 65, told Reuters that a neighbor called him and said he was still trapped in one of the tower blocks.

“I am devastated. I have so many neighbors and friends. I don’t know what happened anymore. Look, all the apartments are burning. I don’t know what to do. I hope the government will help us settle in from now on.”

An elderly woman living in one of the affected blocks told the BBC she was not at home when the fire broke out but was concerned about her flat as she had no insurance.

“I’m very sad that I don’t have a home to go to right now,” he said.

While the cause of the fire, which engulfed many high-rise blocks, is unknown, it is thought that the flames quickly spread to the bamboo scaffoldings covering the buildings under renovation.

Some people criticized the response, expressing anger that such a large fire could have occurred.

“When there is a forest fire they will deploy helicopters and drop water bombs, but why is there no such deployment and how can they leave other buildings burning?” asked Ms. Poon, a resident of Wang Fuk Court in her sixties.

“The area is very close to the fire station and we thought the fire could be put out quickly, but the fire has now spread. I am very disappointed,” he told SCMP.

Ms Poon stated that she had not been given any instructions from the government on where to seek help.

The BBC spoke to some Tai Po residents who brought supplies, including dozens of blankets and heat packs, to victims and affected residents.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said government agencies were assisting residents affected by the fire.

When asked about their feelings about the fire, residents said the “government was incompetent” and that they were “very upset.”

“We don’t want to see any more losses,” one person said.