The blaze broke out on Wednesday in the afternoon and spread quickly along the bamboo scaffolding that surrounded the building.
High-rise fire in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district kills at least 36, with 279 missing
Smoke rises after a fire broke out at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong's New Territories
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Thick smoke rose above the area as firefighters worked from ladder trucks to contain the flames.
Hong Kong's chief executive, John Lee, confirmed at least 36 people, including a firefighter, had died and another 279 people were reported missing.
Hundreds of residents were evacuated as the blaze spread across seven of the eight buildings in a housing complex in Tai Po district, a suburb in the New Territories.
At least 29 others remained hospitalized.