Fire at Hong Kong's World Trade Centre

City authorities said firefighters were battling the blaze with two high-powered hoses, using ladders and breathing apparatus in the effort to rescue those trapped.

Shoppers and office workers streamed out of the building as smoke billowed from it. Police halted traffic on some major roads next to the 39-floor World Trade Centre, which is home to restaurants, offices and shops.

About 100 people moved from a restaurant to the top 39th floor when the fire broke out and smoke filled the dining area, broadcaster RTHK quoted police as saying.

Media said the fire broke out in a utility room on a lower level of the shopping mall at noon before spreading to bamboo scaffolding surrounding the block.

The cause of the fire was not immediately clear.