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At least 13 people have been killed in a fire that has engulfed several high-rise apartment buildings in Hong Kong, authorities say, with some residents reported trapped inside.

Flames took hold in several apartment blocks of the Wang Fuk Court estate in Tai Po, a district in the northern part of the city, on Wednesday afternoon before engulfing other parts of the buildings.

Firefighters battled the blaze into the night as thick, black smoke billowed from the 31-storey towers and orange flames lit up the sky.

Nine people were declared dead at the scene and four sent to hospital were later confirmed dead, said the Fire Services Department, which upgraded the blaze to a level five alarm – the highest level – after nightfall.

At least 15 people were injured, and local media reported that some residents were believed to be trapped inside the buildings.

Chan Derek Armstrong, deputy director of Hong Kong’s Fire Services Department, told reporters that the fire spread rapidly and authorities received numerous calls for help from residents.

“Debris and scaffolding of the affected buildings are falling down, so [that poses] additional danger to our frontline personnel,” he said, adding that the temperature inside the buildings remained very high.

“It’s quite difficult for us to enter the buildings and go upstairs to conduct firefighting and rescue operations,” he said.

‘People trapped inside’

“There’s nothing that can be done about the property. We can only hope that everyone, no matter old or young, can return safely,” a Tai Po resident surnamed So, 57, told the AFP news agency near the scene of the fire.

“It’s heartbreaking. We’re worried there are people trapped inside.”

Reporting from the scene of the blaze, journalist Laura Westbrook told Al Jazeera that when the fire started, it spread through the bamboo scaffolding to other blocks in the housing estate.

“As I’ve been standing here, I can smell the smoke and occasionally we hear these pops, as some of the debris falls to the ground,” Westbrook said.

Wang Fuk Court is one of many high-rise housing complexes in Hong Kong, a city that is one of the most densely populated areas in the world.

Harry Cheung, 66, who has lived at Block Two in one of the complexes for more than 40 years, said he heard “a very loud noise” at around 2:45pm local time (06:45 GMT) and saw a fire erupt in a nearby block.

“I immediately went back to pack up my things,” he told the Reuters news agency. “I don’t even know how I feel right now. I’m just thinking about where I’m going to sleep tonight because I probably won’t be able to go back home.”

Bamboo scaffolding

People gathered on a nearby overhead walkway, watching in dismay and taking pictures as smoke billowed from the buildings.

Some of the structures were clad in bamboo scaffolding, with social media posts from residents saying the units had been under renovation for around a year.

Frames of scaffolding were seen tumbling to the ground as firefighters battled the blaze, while scores of fire engines and ambulances lined the road below the development, witnesses told Reuters.

Firefighters deployed 128 fire trucks and 57 ambulances to the scene.

Authorities set up a casualty hotline and opened two temporary shelters in nearby community centres for evacuated residents. Sections of a nearby highway also were closed by the firefighting operation.

“Residents nearby are advised to stay indoors, close their doors and windows, and stay calm,” the Fire Services Department said. “Members of the public are also advised to avoid going to the area affected by the fire.”

Tai Po, located near the border with mainland China, is an established suburban district with a population of about 300,000 people. Records show the housing complex consisted of eight blocks with almost 2,000 apartments housing about 4,800 people.

Ukraine is calling for more sanctions and asset freezes on Russia as it fends off intensified attacks, with another harsh winter of war looming.

At least 10 people have been killed, and more parts of Ukraine have been plunged into darkness, after another night of intense Russian attacks across the country, local authorities said, as diplomatic momentum to end the nearly four-year war falters.

Ukraine’s military announced on Saturday morning that hundreds of Russian drones, as well as missiles launched from the air, ground and sea, targeted critical infrastructure, a frequent Kremlin target as another harsh winter of war looms.

Ukraine said its air force detected 503 air attacks, including 45 missiles and 458 drones, launched by Russian forces overnight. Most of the missiles went through defences, with only nine successfully shot down, but 406 of the drones were intercepted.

The Russian attacks concentrated mostly on gas and power infrastructure, leading to power cuts in several regions.

In the front-line Zaporizhzhia region, Governor Ivan Fedorov said three people were killed and six wounded in overnight Russian attacks on several districts, which hit a residential building, among other targets.

Two more people were reported killed in two districts of Donetsk, according to local authorities. Oleksandr Prokudin, governor of Kherson, reported another two people killed and 10 wounded after several multistorey buildings, private homes and vehicles were hit.

Kyiv Governor Mykola Kalashnyk said an attack in the Vyshhorod district injured a woman and hit civilian areas and energy infrastructure.

At least two people were killed and 11 others, including children, wounded after a Russian strike hit a building in the eastern region of Dnipro, local authorities said.

A “massive” strike was reported by Governor Volodymyr Kohut in the Poltava region, where another person was injured and rolling blackouts are in place to compensate for damaged power infrastructure.

‘More pressure is needed’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy renewed a call for further sanctions on Russia and freezing its assets in the European Union before winter, saying “Russian strikes show that the pressure must be stronger.

“Russian nuclear energy is still not under sanctions, Russian military-industrial complex still receives Western microelectronics, more pressure is needed on oil and gas trade as well,” he said in a statement.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence confirmed in its latest combat report overnight that it launched a “massive strike with high-precision long-range weapons from air, land and sea platforms”, including hypersonic ballistic missiles.

It said Russian air defences brought down two guided aerial bombs and 178 unmanned aerial vehicles launched by Ukrainian forces. Another eight drones were reportedly shot down before noon on Saturday.

Fierce house-to-house fighting also continues to rage in Pokrovsk, the city in Donetsk where tens of thousands of Russian troops have converged to push for control of more territory and to “liberate” buildings held for more than a year by Ukrainian soldiers, in intense close-range clashes.

Ukraine’s top general Oleksandr Syrskii said Kyiv’s troops were stepping up assaults on Russian forces around the eastern Ukrainian town of Dobropillia to ease pressure on Pokrovsk.