FIREFIGHTERS battled a blaze at a Hong Kong high-rise for the second day today, as the death toll climbed to 75, rising rapidly, in the city’s deadliest modern blaze.

Rescuers with flashlights continued going door to door in the charred Wang Fuk Court towers, where smoke was still billowing from upper floors in the densely populated Tai Po district near the mainland border.

Authorities said contact had been lost with 279 people early today, though they gave no update on how many remained missing or trapped.

Video footage showed firefighters searching apartments in darkness as flames flickered inside shattered windows across the blackened complex.

The fire reportedly began on bamboo scaffolding and construction netting on Wednesday afternoon before spreading rapidly across seven of the estate’s eight buildings.

By today, firefighters said blazes in four towers were extinguished and three were under control.

Deputy fire services director Wong Ka-wing said crews were “battling high temperatures” as they climbed floor by floor in hope of rescuing more survivors.

More than 70 people were injured, including 11 firefighters, and around 900 residents spent the night in temporary shelters.

Among them was Lawrence Lee, who said his wife was likely still trapped after attempting to flee into smoke-filled corridors before retreating to their flat.

“When the fire started, I told her on the phone to escape,” he said.

“But once she left the flat, the corridor and stairs were all filled with smoke and it was all dark, so she had no choice but to go back [inside].”

Police arrested three men, directors and a consultant from a construction company, on suspicion of manslaughter, alleging “gross negligence.”

Officers also searched the office of Prestige Construction & Engineering, which had overseen renovation works, seizing boxes of documents.

Officials said some external building materials failed fire-resistance standards and that highly flammable Styrofoam was found attached near elevator lobbies.

The 1980s-built complex contains nearly 2,000 flats and was undergoing major renovation.

Hong Kong’s anti-corruption agency has launched a probe into possible wrongdoing linked to the project.

Bamboo scaffolding is a traditional construction method now under review.

Chief Secretary Eric Chan said the government would consult industry groups on shifting to metal scaffolding, citing its greater fire resistance.

Immediate inspections of other estates under renovation are planned.

The blaze is Hong Kong’s deadliest in decades, surpassing a 1996 fire that killed 41 people.