BEIJING — An inferno ravaged a high-rise apartment complex in Hong Kong on Wednesday, killing at least 44 people, leaving nearly 280 others missing and prompting the police to arrest three construction officials on a charge of suspected manslaughter, accusing them of “gross negligence.”

The police also opened an investigation into the building materials on the exterior walls of the towers because they were suspected of not meeting fire-safety standards, potentially leading to the rapid spread of the blaze, the authorities said at a news conference early Thursday. But the exact cause of the fire was not immediately known.

By early Thursday morning, more than 15 hours after a pall of black smoke rose from the towers in the Tai Po district, firefighters were gradually bringing the blaze und

See Full Page