Hong Kong fire: Toll rises to 36

Fire is deadliest since 1996 Kowloon blaze killed 41 Several residential high-rise towers engulfed in flames Bamboo scaffolding, which is being phased out, fanned fire Tragedy could stoke resentment ahead of a city election

- ASSOCIATED PRESS

Hong Kong's deadliest fire in years blazed late into the night Wednesday as the city’s leader confirmed at least 36 people, including a firefighter, had died and another 279 people were reported missing.

Hundreds of residents were evacuated as the blaze spread across seven high-rise apartment buildings in a housing complex in Tai Po district, a suburb in the New Territories. At least 29 others remained hospitalised. “Police and the Fire Services Department have already set up a dedicated investigation team to investigate the cause of the fire,” John Lee, Hong Kong's chief executive, said.