Fire engulfs Hong Kong residential high-rise blocks, killing at least 36

A huge fire that ripped through a Hong Kong housing estate has killed at least 36 people, city leader John Lee said on Thursday, adding that 279 people were unaccounted for.

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"As of now, this fire has caused the deaths of 36 people and left 279 people unaccounted for. There are 29 people still hospitalised, with seven of them in critical condition," Lee said at a press briefing in the early hours of Thursday.

Massive flames first took hold on bamboo scaffolding on several apartment blocks of the Wang Fuk Court estate in Tai Po, a district in the northern part of the Chinese financial hub, before engulfing other parts of the buildings.

An AFP reporter heard loud cracking sounds, possibly from the burning bamboo, and saw thick plumes of smoke billowing from at least five out of the estate’s eight buildings as flames and ash reached high into the sky.

"There’s nothing that can be done about the property. We can only hope that everyone, no matter old or young, can return safely," a Tai Po resident surnamed So, 57, told AFP near the scene of the fire.

"It’s heartbreaking. We’re worried there are people trapped inside."