HONG KONG — A middle-aged woman emerged, weeping and clinging to her companion, from a community hall now used as a victim identification station in the shadow of smouldering apartment towers that mark Hong Kong’s worst fire in decades.

Dozens passed through the station on Thursday desperately seeking news of loved ones after the blaze tore through a residential estate in the north-eastern district of Tai Po, killing at least 75 people and injuring and displacing hundreds more.

The small hall was set up so people could look through dozens of pictures of the dead. A makeshift sign on a nearby wall read simply: “Photo-viewing.”

Paramedics and social workers stood ready inside.

“I cannot find my family members in the photos... If they have more photos, I may come again to take a look,” said a woman surnamed Cheung, whose sister and brother-in-law are missing.

“I cannot describe my feelings. There were children... “ an emotional Cheung said after leafing through the pages of photos.

Karen Lam, a social worker running a support centre next door, told AFP that her team had seen “a few cases” of distraught residents who required help.

The mood was sombre as people waited in groups to be led in, with onlookers being kept away by police and media access limited.

A 77-year-old man surnamed Lai said he wanted to help his sister identify a missing friend.

“(The friend) didn’t reply to messages. We can’t say for sure the worst has happened, maybe fortune smiles on them,” Lai said.