At least 146 people are known to have died in a devastating fire that tore through multiple high-rise buildings in Hong Kong.
Police announced the death toll in a news conference on Sunday, cautioning that they “cannot rule out the possibility of further fatalities”. A further 79 are injured and 150 remain missing, they said.
Seven of eight tower blocks in a housing in the northerly Tai Po district rapidly went up in flames on Wednesday. Accusations the fire was helped by flammable materials on the outside of the buildings has sparked anger and concern.
Thousands are gathering at the Wang Fuk Court complex on Sunday to mourn the victims, with queues stretching to almost 2km.
The death toll has been rising since the fire began, as officials work to recover and identify bodies.
The exact cause of the blaze has yet to be determined. Eight people have been arrested on suspicion of corruption over the renovations that had been taking place on the towers, while three others were detained on manslaughter charges.
The fire – which spread quickly both upwards and between the blocks – was only fully doused by Friday morning, and took more than 2,000 firefighters to bring under control.
The same day, police began entering the buildings to gather evidence. Authorities say the investigation could take three to four weeks.
Police official Tsang Shuk-yin said on Sunday that officers had so far completed searches of four of the tower blocks.
Indonesia’s consulate in Hong Kong said at least seven of its nationals had died from the fire, while the Philippines’ consulate said one of its citizens had.
Firefighter Ho Wai-ho, 37, has been identified as among those killed. He was found collapsed at the scene on Wednesday, about 30 minutes after contact with him was lost.
The fire department said the fire reached a peak temperature of 500C (932F). Twelve firefighters were injured battling the blaze.
The fire spread quickly across the separate blocks due to the presence of plastic netting and other flammable materials on the outside of the buildings, officials have said.
The tower blocks were also covered in bamboo scaffolding, which is commonly used for construction and renovation work in Hong Kong. The fire has sparked a debate about whether it should still be used.
Several residents have said they did not hear a fire alarm when the fire broke out. Hong Kong’s fire service found that fire alarms in all eight blocks were not working effectively.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said that those arrested in the corruption probe included directors at an engineering company and scaffolding subcontractors.
A police spokesperson previously said they have reason to believe “those in charge at the company were grossly negligent”, which led to the fire and caused it to “spread uncontrollably”.
Hong Kong’s buildings department has temporarily suspended works on 30 private projects.
Police reportedly detained a 24-year-old man on suspicion of sedition on Saturday. He was part of a group petitioning for an independent probe into the fire.
The fire – Hong Kong’s deadliest in more than 70 years – led the region’s authority to declare a three-day mourning period, which began on Saturday.
Officials observed a three minutes’ silence to mark the start of the period, while the flags of China and Hong Kong were flown at half-mast.
Thousands of people have been visiting the scene to lay down flowers and pray, as well as offer handwritten messages for victims.
Indonesian worker Romlah Rosidah said she was “very surprised” with how many people turned up to pray for the victims.
“This event was only spread on social media, but [it] turned out their hearts moved,” she told news agency Reuters.
One Filipino worker said they joined the prayers in solidarity, as well as “to show the Hong Kong community that we are one in this situation”.
Wang Fuk Court was built in 1983 and had provided 1,984 apartments for some 4,600 residents, according to a 2021 government census.
Nearly 40% of its residents are estimated to be at least 65 years old. Some have lived in the subsidised housing estate since it was built.
Hong Kong’s second-deadliest fire on record killed 176 people in 1948 and was caused by a ground-floor explosion at a five-storey warehouse. The most deadly was at Happy Valley Racecourse in 1918, when more than 600 people died.