Hong Kong fire death toll rises to 128, with 200 still missing

HONG KONG — The deadly inferno that tore through a high-rise housing estate in Hong Kong has killed at least 128 people, authorities said Friday, with some 200 people still missing.

Firefighters combing each apartment in the charred tower complex had found dozens more bodies, officials said at a news conference, raising the death toll as smoke still drifted into the air of the Chinese territory some 48 hours after its deadliest blaze in decades.

The city’s Secretary for Security, Chris Tang, told reporters that 89 bodies could not yet be identified, while there were also 79 people injured.

Firemen outside the the Wang Fuk Court residential estate in Hong Kong on Thursday.Dale De La Rey / AFP via Getty Images

Preliminary findings revealed that the fire initially started in the surrounding netting outside the lower floors at Wang Cheong House, one of the seven impacted towers at the Wang Fuk Court building complex, Tang said.

“The foam boards covering the windows are highly flammable,” Tang added, although the scaffold netting had been proven as flame-retardant.

He went on to add that the burning of the foam boards resulted in the fire quickly spreading to other floors and affecting six more blocks at Wang Fuk Court.

People respond to the fire at Wang Fuk Court apartment complex in the Tai Po district on Thursday in Hong Kong.Isaac Lawrence / Getty Images

Police searched the offices of Prestige Construction and Engineering Co., the registered contractor hired to carry out the renovations, after arresting two directors and an engineering consultant on suspicion of manslaughter Thursday.

A 48-year-old woman named Cindy, who declined to give her full name for privacy reasons, said she grew up in Wang Fuk Court and felt “very sad” and “helpless” to see her parents’ home completely burned down.

The Fire Services Department said that a total of 12 people from the city's fire service had been injured as a result of the rescue efforts, with one in critical condition after suffering a heat stroke.

Among those killed was Ho Wai-ho, a 37-year-old firefighter who was one of the first people to respond. He died in the hospital after being found collapsed at the scene of the fire.

The inferno, the financial hub's worst in decades, took hold on Nov. 26 afternoon in an eight-building housing estate with 2,000 apartments and sent shockwaves through the city, which has some of the world's most densely populated and tallest residential blocks.

Flames were still spotted in some of the windows while multiple fire hoses sprayed the scorched exteriors yesterday.

Crowds gathered in nearby streets and public areas to organize aid for displaced residents and firefighters, part of a spontaneous effort that drew people from across the city.

"It's truly touching. The spirit of Hong Kong people is that when one is in trouble, everyone lends support... It shows that Hong Kong people are full of love," said Stone Ngai, 38, one of the organizers of an impromptu aid station.

Police said early yesterday they arrested three men in connection with the fire, after flammable materials left during maintenance work caused the blaze "to spread rapidly beyond control."

Officers searched premises in a separate neighborhood yesterday morning, taking away documents in binders in relation to the three people arrested, who police suspect "acted with gross negligence" by leaving foam packaging at the site of the fire.

Hong Kong authorities will immediately inspect all housing estates undergoing major works following the disaster, the city's leader John Lee said.

Multiple residents of Wang Fuk Court, located in Hong Kong's northern district of Tai Po, told AFP that they did not hear any fire alarm and had to go door-to-door to alert neighbors to the danger.

"The fire spread so quickly. I saw one hose trying to save several buildings, and I felt it was far too slow," said a man surnamed Suen, recalling his plight the day before.

"Ringing doorbells, knocking on doors, alerting the neighbors, telling them to leave, that's what the situation was like."

Hong Kong's fire department raised the death toll to 55 yesterday.

A government spokesman told AFP that 61 people were being treated in hospital. Fifteen were in a critical condition, 27 in a serious condition and 19 were stable.

City leader Lee said in the early hours of yesterday that 279 were unaccounted for, though firefighters said later that they had established contact with some of those people.

Lee said more than 900 people sought refuge at temporary shelters overnight.

Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed condolences to the victims, including "the firefighter who died in the line of duty," according to state media.

Deadly fires were once a regular scourge in densely populated Hong Kong, especially in poorer neighborhoods.

However, safety measures have been ramped up in recent decades and such fires have become much less commonplace.