Fourteen people were killed after a huge fire engulfed a residential area in the Tai Po area of Hong Kong on Wednesday afternoon, according to a press release issued by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government.

The Fire Services Department of the HKSAR government was notified of the accident at around 2:51 p.m.

Due to the fierce blaze, the department raised the alert to a No. 5 alarm fire at 6:22 p.m. Rescue operations are still ongoing.