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At least 36 dead in Hong Kong residential complex fire

Flames engulfed the bamboo scaffolding of at least three apartment blocks located in the Tai Po district.

Several people watch the fire at a residential complex in Hong Kong.

Several people watch the fire at a residential complex in Hong Kong.AFP.

Víctor Mendoza
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At least 36 people died Wednesday in a fire at a residential complex in Hong Kong, a local official told AFP.

City leader John Lee added that 279 people were missing.

"So far, this fire has killed 36 people and left 279 people missing. There are 29 people hospitalized, seven of them in critical condition," Lee told a news conference early Thursday in China.

According to a local media quoted by the agency, among the dead is a firefighter.

The flames devoured the bamboo scaffolding of at least three apartment blocks in Tai Po, a northern district of Hong Kong, before spreading to other parts of the Wang Fuk Court residential complex.

Live images could show plumes of smoke over the residential buildings.

Authorities had to close segments of a nearby highway while firefighters continued to battle the blaze as night fell.

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