Hong Kong fire engulfs high-rise housing estate, killing at least 13

A major fire tore through multiple high-rise towers at a housing estate in Hong Kong on Wednesday, killing at least four people, officials said.

HONG KONG — A major fire tore through multiple high-rise towers at a housing estate in Hong Kong on Wednesday, killing at least 13 people, officials said.

Police received multiple reports of people trapped in the estate, where bamboo scaffolding had been erected outside several towers as they underwent renovation, local media reported.

15 others were injured in the fire at Wang Fuk Court in the northern district of Tai Po, the Fire Services Department said.

At least one firefighter was killed, Hong Kong's director of fire services Yeung Yan Kin told a news conference.

Ho Wai-ho, 37, "sustained burns to his face," Yeung said, adding that he was rushed to a nearby hospital after first aid and CPR were administered. He later died, Yeung said.