Hong Kong Fire Kills at Least Dozens, Hundreds Missing

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Transcript

00:00I'm here in Taipo at the scene of the fire that broke up yesterday at 3 p.m.

00:04We are now 8.30 a.m. the next morning.

00:07It's about 17 hours on and the fire is still ablaze.

00:11If you look through some of the apartments, you can still see the fire and smoke.

00:14Heavy black smoke billowing out.

00:16I can smell it.

00:17I can feel a sting in my eyes when the wind blows over.

00:20This is the worst fire since 1962.

00:23At the moment, the death toll stands at 44.

00:26It could be revised up later.

00:28Many more still missing.

00:30Authorities said that the speed of the fire was faster than usual

00:33and they have arrested three people from the engineering company, accusing them of manslaughter.

00:39Authorities said they found substandard building materials.

00:41You can see that this housing estate is actually over 40 years old.

00:45It was undergoing heavy renovation and there are still the remnants of the bamboo scaffoldings

00:49that are surrounding the buildings.

00:52And authorities said that if the materials were not fire resistant and were not compliant with rules,

00:59because that could have caused the fire to spread quicker than usual.

01:02It's a devastating night for many of the residents who are still figuring out what to do and where to stay next.

01:09I hope so.

01:10Ready?