At least 128 killed in Hong Kong blaze as search for scores still missing continues

At least 128 people were killed in a massive fire that broke out on Wednesday at the Wang Fuk Court housing complex in Taipo, a suburb in Hong Kong's mountainous New Territories, the city's fire service announced on Friday.

Officials confirmed that firefighting operations have ended, adding that the focus has now shifted towards entering each unit in the seven affected towers in the complex of eight 32-story residential high-rise buildings. Around 200 people are still unaccounted for.

So far, firefighters have searched over 1,000 housing units to locate survivors. They added that they established a system to record the details of those injured or missing, making it easier for their families to identify and contact them. At a news conference on Friday, officials said 79 people were injured in the blaze.

Rescuers holding flashlights were going from apartment to apartment at the charred towers as thick smoke poured out from some windows at the Wang Fuk Court complex, a dense cluster of buildings housing thousands of people in Tai Po district, a northern suburb near Hong Kong’s border with mainland China.

The cause of the fire has yet to be established. On Friday, officials say early investigations indicate the flames started at lower levels and then spread to higher floors.

The main theory leading up to Friday was that construction materials and bamboo scaffolding caught fire during renovation work at the complex.

Officials are investigating why construction materials, netting, and bamboo scaffolding used in renovations to the exteriors of the high-rise buildings caught fire. An early assumption was that some of the materials used did not meet fire-resistance standards, but investigations are ongoing and could, according to authorities, take weeks.

Authorities arrested three people in the meantime in connection with the incident: the directors of the project and an engineering consultant of a construction company, who are being investigated for manslaughter.

Police did not name the company, but they searched the office of Prestige Construction & Engineering Co, which AP confirmed was responsible for the renovations.

About a third of Hong Kong residents live in government-subsidised Housing Authority housing. Wang Fuk Court is a complex of privately-owned but subsidised housing.

It was built in the 1980s, and the basic apartments measure 40-45 square metres, according to online real estate listings.

Like most Hong Kong mass market housing, they appear not to be equipped with smoke detectors, sprinkler systems or other fire safety systems. The buildings were constructed before revisions to Hong Kong's fire codes required mandatory fire refuge floors.

The fire is the deadliest to hit Hong Kong in decades. The last major deadly blaze came in November 1996, when 41 people died in a commercial building in Kowloon in a fire that lasted for around 20 hours.