Hong Kong's Deadliest Fire: What Led to the Towering Inferno?

The death toll from Hong Kong's worst blaze in decades rose to 128 on Friday, with dozens still missing, as authorities said fire alarms in the residential estate buildings had been malfunctioning.

Families scoured hospitals and victim identification stations hoping to find their loved ones, with around 200 people still listed as missing and 89 bodies as yet unidentified.

Flames moved quickly through the Wang Fuk Court housing estate in Tai Po district on Wednesday afternoon, spreading through seven of the eight high-rises and transforming the densely packed complex into an inferno.

The blaze was "largely extinguished" by Friday morning after burning for more than 40 hours, the fire services said, announcing they had finished their search of over 1,800 flats for survivors.

Authorities are investigating what sparked the fire, including examining the bamboo scaffolding and netting wrapped around the complex as part of a major renovation.

The Hong Kong government said on Friday it appeared the fire had started in protective netting on the lower floors of one of the towers and that foam boards and bamboo scaffolding had contributed to its spread.

Fire services chief Andy Yeung said earlier they had discovered that alarm systems in all eight blocks "were malfunctioning".

"We will take enforcement actions against the contractors responsible," Yeung told a press conference.

Residents had recounted having to run door-to-door to alert neighbours to the danger.

At the charred apartment blocks on Friday morning, workers brought out bodies in black bags, with an AFP reporter counting four in one 15-minute period.

Vehicles unloaded corpses at a mortuary in nearby Sha Tin, another reporter saw, with families arriving in the afternoon for identification.

At one hospital in Sha Tin, a woman surnamed Wong was looking for her sister-in-law and her sister-in-law's twin, with no luck.

"We still cannot find them. So we are going to different hospitals to ask if they have good news," the 38-year-old told AFP in tears.

"We were already waiting at the Prince of Wales Hospital on the first day but there was no news. We also came here yesterday."

The last contact anyone had with the twins was on Wednesday afternoon, said Wong, around the time the fire was reported.

"One building went up in flames and it spread to two more blocks in less than 15 minutes," a 77-year-old eyewitness surnamed Mui told AFP.

"It was very quick. It was burning red, I shudder to think about it."

The blaze was Hong Kong's deadliest since 1948, when an explosion followed by a fire killed at least 135 people.

Lethal blazes were once a regular scourge in densely populated Hong Kong, especially in poorer neighbourhoods, but improved safety measures have made them far less common.

The city's security chief Chris Tang said the investigation into the fire's causes could take up to three to four weeks.

Hong Kong's anti-corruption body said on Thursday it had launched a probe into renovation work at the complex, hours after police said they had arrested three men on suspicion of negligently leaving foam packaging at the fire site.

The Labour Department told AFP on Friday that it had conducted 16 inspections of the maintenance work at Wang Fuk Court since July 2024, the most recent on November 20, after which the department issued written warnings to remind the contractor to "implement appropriate fire prevention measures".

Hong Kong authorities will immediately inspect all housing estates undergoing major work following the disaster, and will look into shifting construction sites to metal scaffolding in the longer term.

Hong Kong's government has announced a HK$300 million ($38.5 million) fund to help victims of the fire.

City authorities said they had opened nine shelters and were organising temporary accommodation and emergency funds for those who had lost their homes.

Activities around Hong Kong's legislative elections on December 7 have been suspended.

A spontaneous community effort to help firefighters and those displaced had become a well-oiled machine by Friday.

Separate supply stations for clothes, food and household goods had been set up at a public square near the towers, as well as booths providing medical and psychological care.

So much was donated that organisers put out a call on social media saying no more was needed.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed)