Hong Kong fire death toll rises to 65 as towers burn for 2nd day

Firefighters battled a blaze at a highrise residential complex in Hong Kong for the second day on Thursday, as the death toll rose to 65 in one of the deadliest blazes in the city's modern history.

Rescuers holding flashlights were going from apartment to apartment at the charred towers, as thick smoke continued to pour out from some windows at the Wang Fuk Court complex, a dense cluster of buildings housing thousands of people in Tai Po district, a northern suburb near Hong Kong's border with the mainland.

It was unclear how many people were missing or trapped. Hong Kong leader John Lee said contact had been lost with 279 people early Thursday. Authorities did not provide updates on the missing people or how many were still inside the ravaged buildings during a later news conference.

Video showed rescuers searching in some apartments in the dark. Orange flames were still seen from inside several windows, though the whole complex was now largely a blackened ruin.

Firefighters have been trying to control the flames since midafternoon Wednesday, when the fire was believed to have started in bamboo scaffolding and construction netting, and then spread across seven of the complex's eight buildings. Fires in four buildings had been effectively put out, with the remaining three towers under control, authorities said Thursday afternoon.

Rescuers are "battling high temperatures and carefully going up floor by floor, thoroughly searching and aiming to rescue people as quickly as possible," said Wong Ka-wing, deputy director of fire services. "[We] don't rule out rescuing more injured people."

One firefighter was among the dead, and 70 people were injured, authorities said. About 900 people were evacuated to temporary shelters overnight.

Resident Lawrence Lee was waiting for news about his wife, who was still trapped in their apartment.

"When the fire started, I told her on the phone to escape. But once she left the flat, the corridor and stairs were all filled with smoke and it was all dark, so she had no choice but to go back to the flat," he said, as he waited in one of the shelters overnight.

Winter and Sandy Chung, who lived in one of the towers, said they saw sparks fly around as they evacuated Wednesday afternoon. Although they were safe, they were worried about their home.

"I couldn't sleep the entire night," Winter Chung, 75, told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Three men, the directors and an engineering consultant of a construction company, were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. Police have not directly named the company where they work.

"We have reason to believe that those in charge of the construction company were grossly negligent," said Eileen Chung, a senior superintendent of police.

Police on Thursday also searched the office of Prestige Construction & Engineering Company, which The Associated Press confirmed was in charge of renovations in the tower complex. Police seized boxes of documents as evidence, according to local media. Phones for Prestige rang unanswered.