00:00As morning breaks in Hong Kong, firefighters continue to fight the remaining blaze at this
00:05high-rise apartment complex in the city's Taipo district. The fire, which broke out on Wednesday
00:10afternoon, has killed dozens of people, including one firefighter. Hundreds are still missing.
00:16The eight-tower complex was home to over 4,000 people, many of them aged 65 and above. The fire
00:22raged all night as residents watched on, anxiously waiting for news of their loved ones.
00:27One neighbor said he still could not find his wife. I know someone who has young children and
00:33elderly in their family. I called him and he said he was still trapped inside the building.
00:38The cause of the fire is unknown, but police say the blaze's quick spread could be because of
00:42flammable materials used in maintenance work. Two directors of the construction company and
00:47a consultant have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.
00:52We have reason to believe that the company's responsible parties were
00:56grossly negligent, which led to this accident and caused the fire to spread uncontrollably,
01:01resulting in major casualties. The 32-story towers were covered in bamboo scaffolding for
01:07government-mandated maintenance. Flammable foam construction materials were also found on the
01:11outside of every floor. One former district counselor who lived in the apartment complex for 30 years
01:16said having all the towers under construction at once was irregular.
01:20So in our experience, we will do one by one and to save more money because when you do it all
01:28together, then you need many workers at the same time. And also, it will affect all the people
01:36of all the buildings. So actually, we will do it one by one and try to do it part by part.
01:44With hundreds of residents still missing, Hong Kong leader John Lee said that over 800 emergency
01:49personnel had been dispatched to the scene. In a post on social media, Taiwan's president
01:54Lai Qingde sent his condolences to Hong Kong and a wish for the missing residents to be found safe.
02:00On Wednesday night, Chinese leader Xi Jinping urged an all-out rescue effort,
02:04setting aside US$282,000 for Red Cross assistance. And major Chinese businesses like Xiaomi and Tencent
02:11have donated over US$6 million for relief efforts.
02:18Some 900 people have been evacuated to temporary shelters, and many more may be left homeless due
02:24to the densely populated city's housing shortage. With hospitals treating dozens in critical or
02:28serious condition, the death toll is expected to rise, with many still wondering who is to blame
02:34for the city's deadliest fire in decades.
02:36Joseph Wu and Tiffany Wong for Taiwan Plus.
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