Hong Kong high-rise fire kills at least 44, still burning

Hong Kong: Firefighters were still dousing a devastating fire Thursday which ripped through a Hong Kong high rise complex, killing at least 44 people...

Hong Kong: Firefighters were still dousing a devastating fire Thursday which ripped through a Hong Kong high-rise complex, killing at least 44 people and leaving hundreds missing according to authorities.

The inferno -- the financial hub's worst in decades -- took hold on Wednesday afternoon in an eight-building housing estate with 2,000 apartments and sent shockwaves through the city, which has some of the world's most densely populated and tallest residential blocks.

Police said early on Thursday they arrested three men in connection with the fire, after flammable materials left during maintenance work caused the blaze "to spread rapidly beyond control".

Officers searched premises in a separate neighbourhood on Thursday morning, taking away documents in binders in relation to the three people arrested, who police suspect "acted with gross negligence" by leaving foam packaging at the site of the fire.

AFP journalists at the scene just after daybreak on Thursday saw some flats still burning, although the blaze had noticeably dimmed during the early hours of the morning.