A fire broke out at Wang Cheong House, Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po on Wednesday afternoon, with residents desperately searching for their loved ones still trapped in the units.
A resident, surnamed Yip reported seeing the external wall mesh of Wang Cheong House ablaze when he came downstairs, describing the flames as shooting everywhere. The fire quickly spread to the garbage station, and then reached both the adjacent block and his own block, Wang Tai House.
Despite a loud noise that sounded like an explosion, there were no alarms.
“My wife is still inside, and I can't find her. I initially told her to come down, but by the time she reached the ground floor, the fire had already reached the entrance of my building, and she couldn’t get out. I told her to return to our unit, but she said she couldn’t get back in. I’ve been trying to call her since, but she’s not answering,” he said.
Another resident, Mrs Keung noted that the fire had completely devastated the garbage room of her block and described the blaze at Wang Cheong House as an intense blaze that made rescue efforts impossible.
“Even when the fire trucks arrived, they couldn’t do anything,” she said.
One resident from Wang Sun House said that they were at the market when the fire broke out and rushed back upon hearing the news. They were deeply pained, especially since they had just finished renovating their home.
Another resident noted that they had evacuated before the fire spread to their building and had called familiar neighbors in other blocks to urge them to escape.
At Kwong Fuk Community Hall, police and Tai Po District Office were registering affected residents and providing bottled water.
They urged those unable to contact their family members to stay at the community hall and wait for further information, while others were directed to the nearby CCC Fung Leung Kit Memorial Secondary School to rest.
