The death toll from a Hong Kong fire rises to 128.
At least 128 people have died in a devastating fire that engulfed multiple high-rise buildings in Hong Kong.
Another 79 people were injured in the city’s deadliest blaze in more than 70 years, which struck the northern suburb of Tai Po, while dozens are missing.
The fire broke out while the tower blocks were undergoing renovations. The cause of the fire is unclear, but officials said Friday that Styrofoam placed outside the windows facilitated its rapid spread.
Three men who oversaw the renovation are under arrest for manslaughter, and authorities have launched a corruption investigation.
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Firefighting efforts have now ended. The fire department said at a news conference that the fire was fully extinguished by 10:18 local time (02:18 GMT) on Friday.
It also said that 89 bodies have yet to be identified, and 16 remain inside the buildings.
Officials said police would begin entering the Wang Fook courthouse on Friday to gather evidence, and that the investigation would take place over the next three to four weeks.
The fire started at 14:51 local time (06:51 GMT) on Wednesday, and by 18:22 local time, fire officials had upgraded it to the most serious category.
The fire started at a lower level before moving upwards, reaching temperatures of 500°C (932°F), the fire department said.
As a result, flare-ups reigned after dispersal in some places, he said.
Due to the presence of flammable netting and other materials on the outside of the buildings, the fire spread rapidly to separate blocks.
37-year-old firefighter Ho Wai Ho has been identified as one of the dead. He was found collapsed at the scene on Wednesday, about 30 minutes after contact was lost.
Twelve other firefighters were also injured, officials said.
Two Indonesians who were working on the buildings also died in the fire, a migrant charity said. Indonesian and Filipino workers are among those still unaccounted for.
Hong Kong has quickly transitioned from shock to anger, with questions mounting over who should bear responsibility for the fire.
Several residents have said they did not hear the fire alarm when the fire broke out. The Hong Kong Fire Service found that the fire alarms in all eight blocks were not working effectively.
Meanwhile, a resident told the BBC that construction workers had set off some alarms.
Reports of earlier complaints from residents about high renovation fees and whether the materials used complied with fire safety regulations have also resurfaced and are being widely circulated online.
“We have reason to believe that the people in charge at the company were grossly negligent, which led to the accident and the fire that went out of control, resulting in major casualties,” a police spokesperson said.
As firefighters keep the blaze under control, the extent of the damage is yet to be assessed
Thick smoke billowed into the sky as bystanders watched
Wang Fook Court was built in 1983 and, according to the 2021 official census, provided 1,984 apartments for about 4,600 residents.
About 40% of its residents are at least 65 years old. Some have lived in a subsidised housing estate since it was built.
Hong Kong’s deadliest fire killed 176 people in 1948 and was caused by a ground-floor explosion in a five-storey warehouse.
