Unsafe scaffolding and foam may have contributed to spread of blaze

Hong Kong police have alleged unsafe scaffolding and foam materials used during maintenance work may have been behind the rapid spread of a devastating fire at a group of residential tower blocks that has killed at least 83 people and left more than 250 missing.

- Helen Davidson Hong Kong Oliver Holmes

Firefighters were still battling to reach people who could be trapped on the upper floors of the Wang Fuk Court housing complex in the early hours yesterday due to the intense heat and thick smoke generated by the fire. Late in the day, a survivor was rescued from a stairway on the 16th floor of one of the towers, the South China Morning Post reported.

Just after midnight local time yesterday, authorities said the death toll had reached 83. Officials have also reported 76 people injured, including 11 firefighters, making it the deadliest Hong Kong fire in decades.

Fire service officials said blazes in four of the eight apartment blocks in the estate had been extinguished and that three fires were under control. One building was not affected.

Hong Kong's chief executive, John Lee, said yesterday 279 people were unaccounted for, though firefighters said later that they had established contact with some of them.

Authorities have not updated the figure since. Lee said more than 900 people had sought refuge at temporary shelters overnight.

Eileen Chung, a Hong Kong police superintendent, said: "We have reason to believe that the company's responsible parties were grossly negligent, which led to this accident and caused the fire to spread uncontrollably, resulting in major casualties."