HONG KONG, Dec 3 - A married couple in their 70s who lost their apartment in a deadly Hong Kong blaze recounted on Wednesday how they were having afternoon tea in a nearby restaurant when their daughter alerted them to a fire at their residential complex.

The couple, surnamed Leung, rushed to the site of their home.

"It all happened within just an hour or two. I stood there watching as one block after another went up in flames — my legs felt so weak I could hardly stand," Mrs Leung said, choking up with tears.

"When I saw it, I felt completely helpless. I still don’t understand how the fire could spread so fiercely, devouring one building after another."

40 YEARS OF MEMORIES

Revisiting the site, the mother and her daughter, Bonnie, laid flowers and stood in silence at a memorial site close to the burned-out towers.

Gazing out at the destroyed buildings that had housed many of their fondest memories, both were overcome with grief.

"Everything I built over decades has vanished," Mrs Leung told Reuters moments later. "I was supposed to live out my later years there peacefully, spending free time with my husband walking along the waterfront park near our home. Those moments are all just memories now."

Leung, 71, and her 76-year-old husband had lived in Block  E of Wang Fuk Court for about 40 years before the fire struck. They had bought the 500 sq ft apartment second‑hand from Leung's younger sister for more than HK$1 million ($128,458).

When the building required major repairs costing HK$160,000, they managed to scrape together HK$140,000 and are now worried they may never get any of their money back.

'IT WAS TERRIFYING'

Pictures shared by their daughter Bonnie showed their living room, which they cherished for its serene atmosphere and the view from their balcony overlooking flowers they had planted.