Hong Kong on Saturday entered a period of mourning for the 128 people confirmed dead in a massive fire at the Wang Fuk Court high-rise complex. With 150 people still missing days after the tragedy, officials warn the death toll may continue to rise.
Authorities have arrested 11 individuals in connection with the blaze — the city’s deadliest in nearly 80 years — as investigators look into possible corruption and the use of unsafe renovation materials at the building.
Rescue Operations Close, But More Victims May Be Found
Search and rescue efforts at the Tai Po site formally ended on Friday. However, police said they expect to discover additional remains as teams carefully enter the unstable, charred buildings in the coming weeks.
Police updated the number of missing residents, lowering it from 200 to 150 after some families confirmed they had reconnected with relatives they initially reported missing.
Hundreds of officers deployed to search the ruins found no new bodies on Saturday, but they did rescue three cats and a turtle.
The fire, which broke out on Wednesday afternoon, quickly spread through seven of the eight 32-storey blocks, all of which were covered with bamboo scaffolding, green mesh and foam insulation used for renovation work.
China Orders Nationwide Inspection of High-Rise Fire Risks
In response to the disaster, mainland China ordered a nationwide fire-risk review of high-rise buildings, especially those undergoing renovation.
Authorities also confirmed that fire alarms at Wang Fuk Court were not functioning properly, even though the estate housed more than 4,600 residents.
City-Wide Mourning as Flags Lowered to Half-Staff
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee and senior officials, dressed in black, observed three minutes of silence outside government headquarters on Saturday morning. Flags were lowered to half-staff in honour of the victims.
Condolence books have been placed at 18 locations across the city, allowing the public to pay their respects.
Britain’s King Charles sent a message expressing “deepest sympathy” and called the incident an “appalling tragedy.”
Difficult Search Through Dangerous Debris
At the disaster site, police officers wearing protective suits, helmets, and oxygen masks were seen navigating fallen bamboo scaffolding and walking through pools of water left behind by days of firefighting.
Hong Kong’s Home Secretary, Alice Mak, said the full search could take three to four weeks. Saturday’s search focused on the blocks with the least structural damage.
Families gathered nearby to place flowers and attempt the painful task of identifying victims from photographs taken by rescue workers.
Christy Tang, 67, searched for her missing friend.
“We looked through the photos of the victims but couldn’t find her,” she said tearfully.
Migrant Domestic Workers Among the Victims
The tragedy has also deeply affected Hong Kong’s community of 368,000 migrant domestic workers, mostly from Indonesia and the Philippines.
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Indonesia confirmed six deaths among its nationals.
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The Philippines reported one critically injured, one missing, and 28 residents of the area still unaccounted for.
One Filipino worker, Rhodora Alcaraz (28), survived after shielding a 3-month-old baby under a wet blanket while trapped in smoke for several hours.
Worst Fire Since 1948 and Echoes of Grenfell Tower
This is Hong Kong’s deadliest fire since 1948, when 176 people died in a warehouse blaze. The incident has drawn comparisons to London’s Grenfell Tower fire in 2017.
Residents had complained repeatedly last year about fire hazards during renovation, including the flammability of the green mesh covering the scaffolding. Despite this, labour officials reportedly told them the risk was “relatively low.”
Arrests Linked to Unsafe Materials and Possible Corruption
Hong Kong’s anti-corruption agency announced that eight people were arrested on Friday, including:
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an engineering consultant,
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a scaffolding subcontractor,
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and an intermediary.
Police earlier arrested two directors and another engineering consultant from Prestige Construction, the firm overseeing maintenance work at the estate for over a year. They are suspected of manslaughter for allegedly using unsafe materials, including flammable foam panels that blocked windows.
Prestige has not responded to calls for comment.
Activists Demand Independent Investigation
Although public outrage has not reached the scale of past protests, tensions are rising. Volunteers distributed flyers demanding:
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an independent inquiry,
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government accountability,
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proper relocation for displaced residents,
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and better construction oversight.
An online petition calling for these actions reached around 10,000 signatures by Saturday.
Advocacy groups warn that, like other major disasters, pressure for answers could quickly expand beyond construction firms to include government regulators.
A spokesperson for China’s national security office in Hong Kong said authorities would “severely punish anyone who uses the disaster to destabilize the city.”