Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in years is still burning. It has left at least 44 people dead and 279 reported missing with rescuers pulling residents from blazing high-rise apartment buildings into the morning.

Deadly fire engulfs Hong Kong residential towers in Tai Po district, killing at least 36 people, including a firefighter, with others critically injured.

Hong Kong’s worst residential fire in more than half a century is triggering worries that a swathe of the high-rise housing common in China’s cities could be susceptible to similar safety risks.

The fire - the deadliest blaze in Hong Kong in three decades - left at least 36 people dead, including a firefighter, 29 hospitalized and 279 missing. About 900 people were in shelters. Hong Kong police arrested three men on suspicion of manslaughter and are expected to provide more details later, Reuters reported.