Hong Kong: Death toll in high-rise fire rises to 146 as more bodies found in burned buildings

The death toll from a fire that tore through a Hong Kong apartment complex has risen.

Investigators are searching for bodies in the residential towers of Wang Fuk Court, where the blaze erupted on Wednesday.

Authorities say 146 bodies have now been found, rising from a previous reported total of 128.

Shuk-yin Tsang, the head of the Hong Kong police casualty unit, said another 100 people remained unaccounted for.

Flames spread through seven of the eight towers of the complex, and the fire was not fully extinguished until Friday morning.

Police said they had completed searches through four of the affected buildings.

But a city official said they expected the search process to take three to four weeks.

Cheng Ka-chun, the police officer leading the search, said bodies had been found both in apartments and on the roofs.

He said: “It is so dark inside, and because of the low light, it is very difficult to do the work, especially in places away from the windows.”

More than 1,000 people turned out on Sunday to pay tribute to the victims of the blaze; Hong Kong’s deadliest in more than 75 years.

Before the fire broke out, the towers had been clad in bamboo scaffolding, draped with nylon netting for renovations, with windows covered by polystyrene panels.

Residents say they repeatedly warned about the flammability of the materials, but were told by the authorities that they faced “relatively low fire risks”.

Now the authorities are investigating whether fire codes were violated amid growing public anger over the blaze.

Beijing has warned it will use a national security law to crack down on any “anti-China” protests that result.

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