The fire at a Hong Kong apartment complex that left at least 55 people dead and more than 200 missing was brought under control about 27 hours after it began.
According to China Central Television (CCTV) and the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP), Hong Kong's chief executive John Lee said at a press briefing around 6 p.m. on the 27th (local time) that "the blaze at the seven buildings where a fire broke out in Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong is now fully under control." Based on the time Lee released the information, the fire was contained more than a full day after it started.
Minister Lee said rescue teams rescued an additional 55 people that day. More than 200 people are missing, and fire authorities are carrying out search operations around the clock. There are concerns it could go down as the worst loss of life in Hong Kong's history.
So far, 76 injuries have been confirmed by Hong Kong authorities. Of the injured, 16 are in critical condition, and 25 were seriously hurt.
The fire broke out around 2:52 p.m. on the previous day at Wang Fuk Court, a 31-story residential high-rise apartment complex in the Tai Po district of northern Hong Kong.
Since the 1997 handover of sovereignty from Britain, a fire at a Mong Kok nightclub in 2008 left four dead and 55 injured. At that time, as with this incident, a grade-5 (highest level) alert was issued. During British rule, an explosion in 1948 on the first floor of a five-story hazardous materials storage warehouse killed 176 people. In November 1996, a building fire in the Kowloon area left 41 dead and 81 injured.