Hong Kong Housing Fire Kills 4, Including Firefighter

A massive fire engulfed bamboo scaffolding at a high-rise housing complex in Hong Kong's Tai Po district on Wednesday afternoon, killing at least four people, including one firefighter, and injuring several others while trapping residents inside the buildings.

The blaze broke out around 2:52 p.m. local time at Hung Cheong Court in the Hung Fuk Estate, a public housing development in the suburban northern New Territories area, close to the border with mainland China's Shenzhen. Flames rapidly spread along the exterior scaffolding, producing thick black smoke and intense heat that affected at least three nearby towers, including Hung Tai Court and Hung Sun Court. Eyewitnesses reported hearing explosions from within the structures as burning sections of the green scaffolding mesh fell to the ground. Police received multiple calls about people trapped on upper floors, prompting an immediate emergency response.

Hong Kong's Fire Services Department upgraded the incident from a No. 1 to a No. 4 alarm, the second-highest severity level on a scale of five, by 3:34 p.m. Firefighters deployed three aerial ladder trucks, hoses, and teams with breathing apparatus to battle the flames, which...