The death toll from blazes that engulfed a multi-block residential complex in Tai Po rose to 55 on Thursday, as firefighters went through each floor of the buildings to bring the fires under control.

Fires in four of the seven blocks affected in Wang Fuk Court have been extinguished, officials said, while those in the remaining three buildings were "under control".

“The temperature is very high in the fireground and the layout inside is very complex, because scaffolding is collapsed,” said Deputy Director of Fire Services Wong Ka-wing.

“Our firefighters need to confront the high temperature to proceed to the fireground layer by layer.”

Wong said the authorities could only deploy a limited number of emergency personnel at a time as the residential units were not big.

Despite the challenges, Wong said: “We will not give up any chance to save lives.”

Officials confirmed that 51 people were pronounced dead at the scene, while four others lost their lives after being taken to hospital.

Firefighters said they have so far attended 279 of 341 calls for assistance.