Death toll rises to 65 as Hong Kong firefighters battle burning towers

Firefighters battled a blaze at a high-rise apartment complex in Hong Kong for the second day on Thursday, as the death toll rose to 65 in one of the deadliest blazes in the city’s modern history.

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Firefighters battled a blaze at a high-rise apartment complex in Hong Kong for the second day

Rescuers holding flashlights were going from apartment to apartment at the charred towers as thick smoke continued to pour out from some windows at the Wang Fuk Court complex, a dense cluster of high-rise towers housing thousands of people in Tai Po district, a northern suburb near Hong Kong's border with the mainland.

It was unclear how many people were missing or trapped. Hong Kong leader John Lee said contact had been lost with 279 people early Thursday. Authorities did not provide updates on the missing people or how many were still inside the ravaged buildings Thursday during a press conference.