00:00A towering inferno in Hong Kong has left the city reeling.
00:18An entire housing complex engulfed in flames,
00:22seven high-rise apartment blocks burning at once
00:25in one of the deadliest fires the city has seen in years.
00:28This catastrophe erupted mid-afternoon in the Taipul District.
00:33What began as a localized blaze quickly exploded into a firestorm,
00:38racing upward through bamboo scaffolding and construction netting
00:42wrapped around the buildings.
00:44Within minutes, thick black smoke and pillars of flame were shooting from windows
00:48as terrified residents screamed for help.
00:52As night fell, the fire intensified so rapidly
00:55that authorities escalated it to a Level 5 alarm,
00:59Hong Kong's highest emergency classification.
01:03By then, the blaze had already claimed lives.
01:07Fire officials confirmed 13 dead,
01:09including one firefighter who collapsed inside the inferno.
01:13Fifteen more were injured,
01:15and survivors say others are still unaccounted for.
01:18The scale of the response was massive.
01:22128 fire trucks, 57 ambulances,
01:26and teams of firefighters battling flames from ladder trucks
01:30that stretched dozens of stories into the air.
01:33But the fire was merciless,
01:36spreading across multiple towers at once.
01:39Video from the scene shows entire facades burning,
01:42windows bursting, smoke pouring out,
01:45flames licking across the skyline.
01:47Inside these high-rises lived nearly 4,800 people,
01:51many of them elderly.
01:53District officials say a large number of those trapped
01:56were seniors unable to escape,
01:58as smoke-filled stairwells and hallways.
02:02Around 700 residents have now been evacuated
02:04to emergency shelters.
02:07Families displaced in seconds,
02:09watching their homes burn from parking lots and street corners.
02:13Tonight, Hong Kong is searching for answers.
02:15Investigators are combing through the charred remains of the complex
02:19as firefighters continue battling hotspots deep into the night.
02:24What caused the fire?
02:25How it spread so fast?
02:27And whether safety regulations were breached?
02:30Those questions will dominate the days ahead.
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