Two construction workers remain unaccounted for after a massive five-alarm fire enveloped a job site in North Carolina on Thursday.

Over 90 firefighters from across Charlotte responded to the blaze that ignited near the SouthPark Mall around 9.00am on Thursday morning.

It is unclear what sparked the fire at the construction site, where workers were building a large apartment high rise in tony residential neighborhood.

The Charlotte Fire Department described the blaze as ‘fast moving’ and estimated it was as hot as 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

The blaze started at the construction site for an apartment building in Charlotte’s South Park neighborhood (Picture: AP)

A crane operator was trapped above the fire for hours as first responders attempted to rescue him (Picture: AP)

A total of 15 workers were rescued from the site, including a crane operator who was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries. The huge crane was positioned between two large towers, trapping the operator above the fire for hours.

‘The men and women of this department put themselves in harm’s way and actually had to call for assistance themselves to get out of this fire. That’s how fast it was moving,’ Charlotte Fire Chief Reginald Johnson said. ‘I’m proud of the work that we’ve done here.’

However, two construction workers at the site remain unaccounted for.

Firefighters extinguish the blaze that started at a construction site (Picture: AP)

Demonte Sherrill’s family believes he died in the fire (Picture: WSOC-TV)

‘With the extensive structural damage, the search process can be lengthy,’ the Charlotte Fire Department said on Thursday night. ‘We can not confirm a loss of life. This fire has been difficult for our community, and our firefighters continue to diligently work on scene to find answers’

But the family of construction worker Demonte Sherrill believes he perished in the flames.

Sherrill, a 30-year-old father of four, livestreamed his last moments on Facebook Live, his family told local station WSOC-TV.

‘I was hoping, but just from the [Facebook] Live, and the way the room filled up with smoke, I didn’t see it being any hope at that time,’ his mother, Onita Sherrill, told the station.

Sherrill described her son as a ‘good man’ and a ‘loving father.’

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The Charlotte Fire Department described the blaze as ‘fast moving’ and estimated it was as hot as 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.