As morning breaks in Hong Kong, firefighters continue to fight the remaining blaze at this high-rise apartment complex in the city’s Tai Po District.

The fire, which broke out on Wednesday afternoon, has killed dozens of people, including one firefighter. Hundreds are still missing.

The eight-tower complex was home to over 4,000 people, many of them aged 65 and above.

The fire raged all night, as residents watched on, anxiously waiting for news of their loved ones.

One neighbor said he still could not find his wife. I know someone who has young children and elderly in their family. I called him and he said he was still trapped inside the building. 

The cause of the fire is unknown. But police say the blaze’s quick spread could be because of flammable materials used in maintenance work.

Two directors of the construction company and a consultant have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.

We have reason to believe that the company’s responsible parties were grossly negligent, which led to this accident and caused the fire to spread uncontrollably, resulting in major casualties.

The 32-story towers were covered in bamboo scaffolding for government-mandated maintenance. Flammable foam construction materials were also found on the outside of every floor.

One former district councilor who lived in the apartment complex for 30 years said having all the towers under construction at once was irregular.

So in our experience, we will do (construction) one by one and to save more money. Because when you do it all together, then you need many workers at the same time. And also, it will affect all the people of all the buildings. So actually we will do it one by one and try to do it part by part.

With hundreds of residents still missing, Hong Kong leader John Lee said that over 800 emergency personnel had been dispatched to the scene.

In a post on social media, Taiwan’s president Lai Ching-te sent his condolences to Hong Kong and a wish for the missing residents to be found safe.

On Wednesday night, Chinese leader Xi Jinping urged an “all-out rescue effort”, setting aside 282,000 US dollars for Red Cross assistance. And major Chinese businesses like Xiaomi and Tencent have donated over 6 million US dollars for relief efforts.

Some 900 people have been evacuated to temporary shelters, and many more may be left homeless due to the densely-populated city’s housing shortage.

With hospitals treating dozens in critical or serious condition, the death toll is expected to rise, with many still wondering who is to blame for the city’s deadliest fire in decades.