Death toll rises to 146 in Hong Kong apartment complex fire as more bodies found in burned buildings

The death toll from a fire that tore through a Hong Kong apartment complex has risen.

Investigators are searching for bodies in the residential towers of Wang Fuk Court, where the blaze erupted on Wednesday.

Authorities say 146 bodies have now been found, rising from a previous reported total of 128.

Shuk-yin Tsang, the head of the Hong Kong police casualty unit, said another 100 people remained unaccounted for, and 79 people were injured.

Flames spread through seven of the eight towers of the complex, and the fire was not fully extinguished until Friday.

Police said they had completed searches through four of the affected buildings.

But a city official said they expected the search process to take three to four weeks.

The burnt towers

Cheng Ka-chun, the police officer leading the search, said bodies had been found both in apartments and on the roofs.

He said: “It is so dark inside, and because of the low light, it is very difficult to do the work, especially in places away from the windows.”

Before the fire broke out, the towers had been undergoing renovations and were clad in bamboo scaffolding, draped with nylon netting, with windows covered by polystyrene panels.

Residents say they repeatedly warned about the potential flammability of the materials, but were told by the authorities that they faced “relatively low fire risks”.

Now the authorities are investigating whether fire codes were violated amid growing public anger over the blaze.

Beijing has warned it will use a national security law to crack down on any “anti-China” protests that result.

‘Give justice to the families’

Over 1,000 people turned out on Sunday to pay tribute to the victims of the fire, which was Hong Kong’s deadliest in more than 75 years.

Mourners queued for more than a kilometre to lay flowers, some with sticky notes attached addressed to the victims.

Joey Yeung, whose grandmother’s apartment burned in the fire, asked for justice.

The 28-year-old said: “I can’t accept it. So today I came with my father and my family to lay flowers.

“I’m not asking to get anything back but at least give some justice to the families of the deceased – to those who are still alive.”

Another mourner, Lian Shuzheng, said: “This really serves as a wake-up call for everyone, especially with these super high-rise buildings.”

‘Serious deficiencies’ in safety

An online petition demanding an independent probe into possible corruption and a review of construction oversight drew over 10,000 signatures before it was closed.

Another petition with similar demands attracted more than 2,700 signatures with its plea for “explicit accountability” from the government.

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City officials have announced they were suspending 28 building projects undertaken by the contractor that was renovating Wang Fuk Court, the Prestige Construction & Engineering Company.

They said the fire had “exposed serious deficiencies” in the safety of the company’s sites, “including the extensive use of foam boards to block up windows during building repairs”.

The day after the fire broke out, two directors and an engineering consultant from a construction firm were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.

Police said they also suspected the company’s leaders of gross negligence, without identifying the firm by name.

The three men were released on bail, but then rearrested by Hong Kong’s anti-corruption authorities, who made a further eight arrests.