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.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing a long-running corruption trial, has submitted an official request to the country’s president to pardon him.

In a video statement, Mr Netanyahu, who is the only sitting PM in Israeli history to stand trial, said the case had divided the country and a pardon would help restore national unity.

He also said the requirement to appear in court three times a week is a distraction that makes it difficult for him to lead.

President Isaac Herzog’s office said it was “an extraordinary request” which carries “significant implications”.

The president will “responsibly and sincerely consider the request” after consulting with “relevant authorities” in the justice ministry and legal departments, his office said.

It comes after Donald Trump sent a letter to Mr Herzog urging him to “fully pardon” Mr Netanyahu earlier this month.

The US president told Mr Herzog his prime minister had “stood tall for Israel in the face of strong adversaries” and Mr Netanyahu’s “attention cannot be unnecessarily diverted”.

Mr Netanyahu’s trial, which began in 2020, has not yet concluded. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges, which include bribery and fraud.

He was indicted in 2019 in three cases, including allegations of receiving nearly 700,000 shekels (£166,500) in gifts from business representatives.

The prime minister’s request consists of two documents over 111 pages, the president’s office said – a letter signed by Mr Netanyahu’s lawyer, Amit Hadad, as well as a letter signed by Mr Netanyahu himself.

They say a pardon can be issued even before conviction and argue the ongoing trial is preventing Mr Netanyahu from fully performing his duties as prime minister, particularly on critical security and diplomatic issues.

The documents claim the investigation and prosecution of Mr Netanyahu suffered from irregularities, including pressure on witnesses and an effort to target the prime minister.

His long record of service and leadership is also highlighted.

How can you pardon someone who has not been convicted?

Adam Parsons

Middle East correspondent

@adamparsons

This is a truly unprecedented situation – an Israeli prime minister, in the midst of a trial that has already been going on for years, requesting a pardon even though he hasn’t been convicted.

And he is doing so with the backing of the American president, whose goodwill – by contrast to growing international condemnation – now sits at the heart of Israeli government policy.

Benjamin Netanyahu insists he will be exonerated, even if the trial does come to a conclusion. His argument, framed across 111 pages, is that the trial is such a distraction that it is damaging the national interest and affecting his ability to govern.

He also claims that the investigation was fuelled by the malicious intent to incriminate him “at all costs”, despite his decades of public service.

But there will be others who argue the absolute reverse – that the whole structure of justice depends on holding people to account, however powerful they may be.

How, the question will be asked, can you pardon someone who has not been convicted? What sort of a precedent would this set?

We know Donald Trump wants Netanyahu pardoned, and has said so publicly, which leaves President Isaac Herzog in an incredibly difficult spot.

He will want to show his independence, and certainly his advisers are not necessarily Netanyahu supporters. As the president, he is expected to rise above the fray of party politics and make his own decision.

But will he really want to go against Trump – the will of the most powerful man in the world, who has offered such crucial diplomatic support to Israel since returning to office?

And with a general election scheduled for less than a year’s time, how quickly will he come to his conclusion?

PM says trial ‘deepens rifts’

In his video statement, Mr Netanyahu said: “The continuation of the trial tears us apart from within, stirs up this division and deepens rifts.

“I am sure, like many others in the nation, that an immediate conclusion of the trial would greatly help to lower the flames and promote the broad reconciliation that our country so desperately needs.”

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Emi Palmor, former director general of Israel’s justice ministry, said it was not possible for the trial to be stopped by the pardon request.

“You cannot claim that you’re innocent while the trial is going on and come to the president and ask him to intervene,” she said.

The only way to stop the trial is to ask the attorney general to withhold the proceedings, she added.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid urged the president not to give in to the request.

“You cannot grant him a pardon without an admission of guilt, an expression of remorse and an immediate retirement from political life,” he said.

This is a truly unprecedented situation.

An Israeli prime minister, in the midst of a trial that has already been going on for years, requesting a pardon even though he hasn’t been convicted.

And he is doing so with the backing of the American president, whose goodwill – by contrast to growing international condemnation – now sits at the heart of Israeli government policy.

Benjamin Netanyahu insists he will be exonerated, even if the trial does come to a conclusion.

His argument, framed across 111 pages, is that the trial is such a distraction that it is damaging the national interest and affecting his ability to govern.

He also claims that the investigation was fuelled by the malicious intent to incriminate him “at all costs”, despite his decades of public service.

But there will be others who argue the absolute reverse – that the whole structure of justice depends on holding people to account, however powerful they may be.

How, the question will be asked, can you pardon someone who hasn’t been convicted? What sort of a precedent would this set?

We know Donald Trump wants Netanyahu pardoned, and has said so publicly, which leaves President Isaac Herzog in an incredibly difficult spot.

He will want to show his independence, and certainly his advisers are not necessarily Netanyahu supporters.

As president, he is expected to rise above the fray of party politics and make his own decision.

But will he really want to go against Trump – the will of the most powerful man in the world, who has offered such crucial diplomatic support to Israel since returning to office?

And, with a general election scheduled for less than a year’s time, how quickly will he come to his conclusion?