A Hong Kong woman and her family members broke down in tears outside a community hall in Tai Po on Thursday afternoon, a day after her elderly parents went missing in a massive fire at Wang Fuk Court that has killed at least 65 people.

The woman, who gave only her surname, Chan, was among dozens of people who queued outside Kwong Fuk Community Hall to check photographs and personal items found by authorities at the fire site in the hope of identifying their missing relatives. It is estimated that at least 279 people are unaccounted for after the blaze erupted.

Speaking to HKFP before she went into the community hall, Chan said her family had visited multiple hospitals on Wednesday night, staying overnight at one to await information on her parents, who were about to turn 70, but to no avail.

The elderly couple lived in Wang Cheong House, the first of the housing estate’s 31-storey blocks that caught fire. The blaze quickly spread, eventually engulfing seven out of the eight blocks in the estate, which contains roughly 2,000 apartment units, housing mostly seniors.

Chan, who spent her childhood in Wang Fuk Court before moving away after marriage, was in tears when she left the community hall. Her husband told other family members they could not identify either of Chan’s parents. He declined an interview and walked away weeping.

Family members of missing Wang Fuk Court residents scrambled to find their loved ones on Thursday. Many mobilised relatives, hoping to speed up identification. They rushed from one temporary shelter to another to register details of their missing family members, while waiting for an update on the rescue operation.

Cheng, a medic, asked his friends to help distribute flyers with information about his five-year-old daughter, Hannah, and their foreign domestic helper, Maryan. The Wang Tai House resident told HKFP over the phone that his home security camera showed Hannah and Maryan leaving the residence after the fire broke out, but it remains unclear if they made it out of the building.

Ben – a pseudonym – waited outside the temporary shelter at CCC Fung Leung Kit Memorial Secondary School for hours, seeking updates on his sister and brother-in-law, who are in their 70s.

His niece sat next to him, too emotional to speak.

Ben said the family had tried contacting the couple after the fire erupted on Wednesday afternoon, but they had not been able to get in touch. They heard that the Fire Services Department (FSD) had reached the floor of the couple’s residence, but there was no information about them.

“There is nothing we can do. The worst part is we lost contact with them,” he said in Cantonese. “Whether they are alive or dead, we still need to know.”

Social media platforms, such as Threads, were filled with people appealing for information about their loved ones. Many posted photos of missing family members, provided flat numbers, and appealed to the FSD to save them.

Rosanna, who is in her 60s, said she and her husband rushed home on Wednesday after learning about the fire. When they arrived, she begged police officers to let them return to their flat to save their nine-year-old poodle, but their request was denied due to safety concerns.

“We begged them to let us save the dog… the housing unit is so hot, and there is so much smoke… we have prepared for the worst,” she said.

In a press briefing on Thursday evening, Chief Executive John Lee said the fire in the seven blocks that caught ablaze in Wang Fuk Court was “largely extinguished.”

The cause of the fire remains unknown, but authorities said the spread was exacerbated by construction mesh and other materials encasing the towers, which had been undergoing a large-scale construction project since last year.

Police Senior Superintendent Eileen Chung said in the early hours of Thursday that firefighters suspected that the netting, mesh, canvas and plastic sheeting installed on the buildings did not meet fire safety requirements.

Multiple Wang Fuk Court residents told HKFP on Wednesday and Thursday that they noticed cigarette butts around the bamboo scaffolding and in the building lift lobby.

Ivy, who lives in Wang Fuk Court with her husband and three children, said complaints were filed with the building management, but the problem was not eradicated.

Although notices were put up to warn construction workers against smoking following the complaints, the situation continued, she said.

Ivy’s husband, surnamed Luk, who has lived in Wang Fuk Court for decades, said what many affected residents urgently need is a roof over their heads, as many are seeking refuge in relatives’ homes or staying in hotels.

He suggested that the government should hand out cash relief instead of providing supplies that residents may not need.

“We basically have nothing now, except our family. We are already very lucky to have the whole family intact,” he said.