Hong Kong police arrest three as apartment fire death toll rises to 44, hundreds missing

By early Thursday morning, authorities said they had brought the fire four in blocks under control, with operations continuing in three blocks after more than 15 hours.

A huge fire still burning in a Hong Kong apartment complex that has killed at least 44 people and left almost 300 missing may have been spread by unsafe scaffolding and foam materials used during maintenance work, police said on Thursday.