At least 36 people were killed and hundreds are missing after a fire engulfed several high-rise residential towers in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district Wednesday.

John Lee, Hong Kong’s chief executive, said at a press conference that 279 people are missing, and 29 people have been hospitalized, including seven in critical condition.

“Police and the Fire Services Department have already set up a dedicated investigation team to investigate the cause of the fire,” Lee told reporters.

Hong Kong’s Fire Services Department said it received reports of a blaze breaking out at the Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, a district in the northern New Territories, around 2:50 p.m.

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The fire was upgraded to a No. 5 alarm, the most severe rating in Hong Kong, by 6:22 p.m.

In a government statement, the department said nine people were taken to the Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital and the Prince of Wales Hospital.

Tang Ping-keung, the secretary for security of Hong Kong, said one fireman died after sustaining injuries while battling the blaze.

“I am profoundly grieved at the passing of Mr Ho, who lost his life in the course of an operation. I offer my deepest condolences to his family members,” Tang said.

Photos from the scene showed the bamboo scaffolding of the towers engulfed in flames and thick, dark smoke pouring out of multiple floors.

Firefighters were working to extinguish the blaze, and one man was photographed in visible distress, saying his wife was trapped inside.

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Chan Kwong-tak, an 83-year-old retiree living in the community, told The South China Morning Post that the fire alarms failed to go off when the blaze broke out, even though the buildings were equipped with them.

“If someone was sleeping then, they were done,” he said.

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Tai Po’s former district councillor, Herman Yiu Kwan-ho, also told the outlet that residents reported not hearing the fire alarms go off even after they detected the smell of smoke. He said they were only warned when a security guard knocked on their doors, giving them little time to get out.

The Tai Po District Office opened temporary shelters for people in need at the Kwong Fuk Community Hall and the Tung Cheong Street Community Hall.