As firefighters battled floor by floor in Hong Kong's flaming Wang Fuk Court housing complex overnight to find survivors and reunite them with fearful relatives, another band of volunteers swung into action to rescue the estate's pets.

当消防员连夜在香港熊熊燃烧的旺角村住宅区内逐层扑救、寻找幸存者并让他们与忧心忡忡的家人团聚时， 另一组志愿者也迅速行动起来营救该住宅区的宠物。

Dozens of workers from Hong Kong's animal welfare agencies turned out with oxygenated pet carriers and animal ambulances to search for pets in the blazing complex, as social media posts depicted elderly people weeping for animals they left behind in the rush to save human lives.

香港动物福利机构的数十名工作人员带着供氧宠物箱和动物救护车赶到火灾现场，在烈焰腾涌的住宅楼中搜寻宠物。 社交媒体上的帖子显示，老人们为他们在紧急疏散逃生时留下的宠物而哭泣。

Some animal welfare workers carrying cages negotiated with police to allow them through cordons keeping out the public, as the fire raged in the complex on Thursday.

周四火灾在这片住宅区肆虐时，一些携带笼子的动物福利工作者与警方协商，要求允许他们穿过警戒线。

"Pet owners contacted our alliance and we compiled a list of more than 100 cases," said Anson Cheng, of the animal welfare group Hong Kong Guardians.

动物福利组织“香港守护者”的成员安森·郑说：“宠物主人联系了我们的联盟，我们整理了一份包含100多起案例的清单。”

"We shared the cases with firefighters so that they can help check the flats and pick up the pets if they see them."

“我们将这些案例与消防员共享，以便他们帮助检查公寓，并在看到宠物时将其带走。”

Cheng said as of Thursday morning, at least 10 cats, seven dogs and several turtles had been rescued.

郑先生说，截至13日上午，至少有10只猫、7只狗和几只海龟获救。

The fire, which is still burning, has killed at least 44 people and left nearly 300 missing. Police said on Thursday the blaze may have been spread by unsafe scaffolding and foam materials used during maintenance work. Hong Kong's system of micro-chipping dogs and cats meant it was possible that some survivors could be reunited with pets that managed to escape the blaze, said Cheng.

目前火灾仍在持续，已造成至少44人死亡，近300人失踪。 警方13日表示，火灾可能是由维修工作中使用的不安全脚手架和泡沫材料蔓延的。 郑先生说，香港的猫狗芯片系统意味着一些幸存者可能会与成功逃离火灾的宠物团聚。

Despite Hong Kong's often cramped apartment lifestyles, pet ownership is increasingly popular - from dogs and cats to rabbits and hamsters - animal welfare agencies say.

动物福利机构称，尽管香港的公寓生活方式往往很拥挤， 但养宠物越来越受欢迎——从狗和猫到兔子和仓鼠。