Major accident in Hong Kong: 36 people died in a massive fire in seven high-rise buildings, PHOTOS

News Topical, Digital Desk : A fire has spread through a high-rise apartment building in a housing complex in Hong Kong, killing 36 people and leaving some others trapped, the city's fire service said on Wednesday.

Nine people were declared dead at the scene, and four others were later confirmed dead at a hospital, officials said, raising the death toll. At least 15 others were injured. About 700 people were evacuated to temporary shelters.

2,000 apartments in the housing complex

Records show the housing complex consisted of eight blocks containing approximately 2,000 apartments housing approximately 4,800 people. Flames and thick smoke from the raging fire quickly spread over bamboo scaffolding and construction netting erected outside the housing complex.

Video from the scene showed several buildings burning close to each other, with flames and smoke billowing from the windows of several apartments as night fell. Firefighters were pouring water from overhead trucks onto the raging flames.

A firefighter was among the dead.

The fire broke out in the afternoon, and authorities raised the alarm to Level 5, the highest severity level, after dark, the fire service department said. Flames continued to rage late into the night.

128 fire trucks and 57 ambulances were dispatched to the scene. Department Director Andy Yang told reporters that one firefighter was among the dead, and another was being treated for heat exhaustion.

Tai Po is a suburban area in the New Territories, located in the northern part of Hong Kong and bordering Shenzhen, a major Chinese city.

Bamboo scaffolding is common in building and renovation projects in Hong Kong.

However, the government said earlier this year that it would gradually start phasing it out for public projects due to security concerns.

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