Thirteen people have been arrested for suspected manslaughter after Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades, officials have said.

At a press conference about the tragedy at Wang Fuk Court, police said 151 people had now died as a result of the blaze – Hong Kong’s worst since 1948 – and that more than 40 are still missing.

An emotional Tsung Shuk Yin, a police official, told reporters on Monday: “Some of the bodies have turned into ash, therefore, we might not be able to locate all missing individuals.”

The fire last week engulfed multiple high rise blocks of flats. Officials overseeing investigations said that tests on several samples of a green mesh that was wrapped around bamboo scaffolding on the buildings at the time of the blaze did not match fire-retardant standards.

Chief secretary Eric Chan told reporters that contractors working on the renovations used substandard materials in hard-to-reach areas, effectively hiding them from inspectors.

The officials said that foam insulation used by contractors also fanned the flames, and fire alarms at the complex were not working properly.

Sky News had previously learnt that residents raised their fears over fire safety connected to extensive renovations on Wang Fuk Court as early as September 2024.

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Labour Department acknowledges reply ‘was unclear’

In a statement to Sky News, Hong Kong’s Labour Department acknowledged that, in reply to these complaints, it told residents the mesh was designed to limit objects falling from the scaffolding and that “current safety regulations applied to construction sites by the Labour Department do not cover flame-retardant standards for scaffolding netting or any materials”.

They now acknowledge this reply to residents “was unclear and caused misunderstanding”.

The Labour Department also told residents they judged the risk of a fire on the scaffolding was “relatively low”, because the works did not include activities such as welding.

In its statement to Sky News, the Labour Department says this did not mean the risk was negligible, and also noted contractors had been reminded to “implement fire prevention measures.”

The blaze broke out at the Wang Fuk Court housing complex in the city’s Tai Po district on Wednesday.

Records show the site consists of eight blocks, with almost 2,000 apartments housing around 4,800 residents, including many elderly people.

It was built in the 1980s and has recently been undergoing a major renovation.

On Sunday, more than 1,000 people turned out to pay tribute to the victims of the fire, queuing for more than a kilometre to lay flowers, some with sticky notes attached addressed to the victims.

Man calling for probe detained

Meanwhile, it emerged that police detained Miles Kwan, 24, who was part of a group that launched a petition demanding an independent probe into possible corruption and a review of construction oversight.

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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Two people familiar with the matter told Reuters that Kwan was detained on Saturday. The news outlet could not establish whether he had been arrested.

He was pictured leaving a police station in a taxi on Monday afternoon.

Police did not comment on the case, and Hong Kong Security Chief Chris Tang also declined to comment on specific operations at a press conference on Monday.

He added: “I’ve noticed that some people with malicious intent, aiming to harm Hong Kong and national security, have taken advantage of this painful moment for society.

“Therefore, we must take appropriate action, including enforcement measures.”

In a statement about the arrest, Luk Chi-man, executive director of Amnesty International Hong Kong Overseas, said: “We urge the Hong Kong authorities to establish the full facts of last week’s tragedy through a thorough, independent, impartial and open investigation, and to publicly clarify the cause of the fire, hold relevant persons accountable and release all findings without delay.

“It is both a right and a duty for people in Hong Kong to demand this kind of accountability; but rather than recognise this, the Hong Kong authorities have instead chosen to silence those who raise their concerns and demands.

“A healthy society should not have only one voice.”

Rescue and recovery and efforts are underway in parts of South and Southeast Asia where the number of those killed in devastating flooding continues to rise.

The extreme weather last week has killed at least 334 people in Sri Lanka, 502 in Indonesia, and 170 in Thailand, according to authorities.

Rescuers in Sri Lanka are still searching for 370 people after a cyclone hit the island nation, with downpours flooding homes, fields and roads and triggering landslides in the hilly central region.

Nearly a million people have been impacted by the heavy rains and floods, which forced nearly 200,000 into shelters, the country’s disaster management centre said.

People were seen salvaging belongings from flooded homes along the banks of the Kelani river near capital Colombo on Monday.

Meanwhile, train and flight services have resumed after being disrupted last week, but schools stayed closed, officials said.

Cyclone Ditwah was the “largest and most challenging” natural disaster in Sri Lanka’s history, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said.

The cyclone also brought heavy rain to India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu over the weekend, with authorities saying three people were killed in rain-related incidents.

The storm, which is currently 50km (30 miles) off the coast of the state capital Chennai, has already weakened into a “deep depression” and is expected to weaken further in the next 12 hours, weather officials said on Monday.

Hundreds still missing in Indonesia

In Southeast Asia, close to 700 people were killed as two different cyclones hit the region. Rescuers in Indonesia are still searching for at least 508 people missing, according to official figures.

People have started clearing mud, trees and wreckage from roads on the weekend as recovery operations continued.

More than 28,000 homes have been damaged, with 1.4 million people affected by the rare tropical storm.

The country’s president, Prabowo Subianto, called it a catastrophe and pledged to rebuild infrastructure as he visited the three affected provinces on Monday, where nearly 300,000 people have been displaced by the flooding.

In Thailand, flooding in eight southern provinces affected about three million people and led to a major mobilisation of its military to evacuate critical patients from hospitals and reach people stuck in floodwaters for days.

In the worst-affected city of Hat Yai, a southern trading hub, 335 mm (13 inches) of rain fell on 21 November, its highest single-day tally in 300 years, followed by days of unrelenting downpours.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnivirakul expects residents to be able to return home within seven days, a government spokesperson said on Monday.

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The first batch of compensation payments is set to be distributed on Monday, starting with 239m baht (£5.6m) for 26,000 people, the spokesperson added.

In Malaysia there have been at least three deaths and authorities are still on alert for a second and third wave of flooding as 11,600 remain in evacuation centres.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to make his first official visit to Ireland tomorrow, Taoiseach Micheal Martin has revealed.

The Ukrainian president will be accompanied by First Lady Olena Zelenska and meet Mr Martin, president Catherine Connolly and foreign minister Helen McEntee.

Mr Martin said he and Mr Zelenskyy would be holding a bilateral meeting, as well as attending the inauguration of the Ireland-Ukraine Economic Forum, which he said “offers an opportunity to explore the potential for strengthened business-to-business, trade and investment links between Ireland and Ukraine”.

Speaking ahead of the visit, the Taoiseach said: “It is an honour to welcome President Zelenskyy and the First Lady to Ireland.

“Around the world, he is rightly recognised as someone who embodies the courage and resilience of the Ukrainian people, who have inspired the world in their brave defence of their country and its sovereignty since it was brutally and illegally invaded by Russia.

“I have met with President Zelenskyy many times, including in Kyiv, but I particularly look forward to greeting him on this first official visit of a Ukrainian president to Ireland.”

Ireland has been a staunch ally of Ukraine’s since Russia began its invasion in 2022, offering some 120,000 Ukrainians a safe haven.

US-Ukraine talks begin in Florida

The Ireland announcement comes after Mr Zelenskyy’s top team engaged in peace talks with the US for several hours in Florida on Sunday.

The US-Ukraine talks were quickly organised after Donald Trump released a 28-point proposal that was largely seen to be favouring Russia, having been developed in earlier negotiations between Washington and Moscow.

The plan would have imposed limits on the size of Ukraine’s military, blocked Ukraine from joining NATO and required it to hold elections in 100 days. It also initially envisioned Ukraine ceding the entire eastern region of the Donbas to Russia.

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It isn’t clear what changes have been made so far, but US secretary of state Marco Rubio has reassured Ukraine over the plans.

“This is not just about ending a war. This is about ending a war in a way that creates a mechanism and a way forward that will allow them to be independent and sovereign, never have another war again, and create tremendous prosperity for its people,” he said.

“Not just rebuild the country, but to enter an era of extraordinary economic progress.”

He added: “This is not just about peace deals. It’s about creating a pathway forward that leaves Ukraine sovereign, independent and prosperous. We expect to make even more progress today.”

Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s security council, responded by saying the US was “hearing”, “supporting” and “working beside” Ukraine.

Mr Zelenskyy’s team in the US was without his former chief of staff and lead negotiator, Andrii Yermak, as he quit on Friday after officials raided his home amid a corruption scandal.

After the meeting, Mr Rubio said the talks had been “productive”, but more work remained to be done.

On X, Mr Zelenskyy said: “I am grateful to the United States, to President Trump’s team, and to the President personally for the time that is being invested so intensively in defining the steps to end the war. We will continue working. I look forward to receiving a full report from our team during a personal meeting.”

Later this week, Mr Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff is set to travel to Moscow to continue talks with the Kremlin.

Sustained Russian aerial assaults over the weekend

While peace talks ensued, Russian forces launched overnight attacks in and around Kyiv over the weekend, killing at least seven people and injuring dozens more.

Impacts were also reported in the regions of Dnipro, Kharkiv, Odesa, Sumy and Kherson.

Mr Zelenskyy said: “Such attacks occur daily. This week alone, Russians have used nearly 1,400 strike drones, 1,100 guided aerial bombs and 66 missiles against our people. That is why we must strengthen Ukraine’s resilience every day.”

The attacks also hit Ukrainian energy facilities and left hundreds of thousands without power in the capital. Supplies have since been restored.

Targeting such infrastructure has become a familiar tactic from Russia over the winter, in what Ukraine officials say is the “weaponising” of the cold.

Ukraine launched its own drones at two of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” oil tankers in the Black Sea on Friday, and claimed responsibility for damaging a major oil terminal on Saturday near the Russian port of Novorossiysk.

The terminal is owned by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which includes Russian, Kazakh and US shareholders.

Subsequently, on Sunday, Kazakhstan’s foreign ministry said it viewed Ukraine’s attack as “an action harming the bilateral relations of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Ukraine”, adding it expected Ukraine to “take effective measures to prevent similar incidents in the future”.

Ukraine’s foreign ministry said the country’s actions were not directed against Kazakhstan or third parties and were only aimed at repelling what it called “full-scale Russian aggression”.