(MENAFN- Live Mint) The number of deaths from the fire at a Hong Kong apartment complex climbed to 146 on Sunday after investigators uncovered additional bodies in the charred buildings, as reported by AP.

Meanwhile, mourners continued to lay bouquets at a rapidly expanding makeshift memorial at the site

“The Hong Kong police Disaster Victim Identification Unit has been going through the buildings meticulously and has found bodies both in apartment units and on the roofs,” said the officer in charge, Cheng Ka-chun.

Also Read | At least 83 dead as Hong Kong firefighters battle burning towers for a second day Also Read | Hong Kong fire horror: 8 towers engulfed; 13 killed, hundreds evacuated | Watch

The buildings remain structurally sound, but the search has been slow, he told reporters, still wearing his white coveralls with his hard hat and respiratory mask at his side.“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.”

So far the team has examined four of the seven blocks, Cheng said.

Another 100 people are unaccounted for and 79 have been injured, said Tsang Shuk-yin, the head of the Hong Kong police casualty unit, AP reported.

At the scene, well-wishers bowed and said short prayers, or left handwritten notes among the flowers.

View full Image
An Indonesian woman prepares flowers at a prayer for victims of the deadly November 26 fire at Tai Po, at Victoria Park in Hong Kong on November 30, 2025. An outpouring of grief swept Hong Kong on November 29 as thousands paid their respects and laid flowers for the 128 people killed in one of the city's deadliest fires, marking the start of an official three-day mourning period. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)
(AFP)

“This really serves as a wake-up call for everyone, especially with these super high-rise buildings," said Lian Shuzheng, who waited in a line of hundreds of people to add her flowers to the growing cluster.

People have also donated supplies to those who lost everything in the blaze, which started Wednesday and took until Friday to fully extinguish.

Other constructions by the same builder are halted

The eight buildings of the Wang Fuk Court complex in the suburb of Tai Po had all been clad in bamboo scaffolding draped with nylon netting for renovations, with windows covered by polystyrene panels. Authorities were investigating whether fire codes were violated.

Hong Kong officials announced late Saturday they had ordered the immediate suspension of work on 28 building projects undertaken by the same contractor, the Prestige Construction & Engineering Company, for safety audits.

“The five alarm fire at Wang Fuk Court, Tai Po, exposed serious deficiencies of PC&E in site safety management, including the extensive use of foam boards to block up windows during building repairs,” the government said in a statement.

The company did not answer calls Sunday for comment.

Three men - the directors and an engineering consultant of a construction company - were arrested the day after the fire broke out on suspicion of manslaughter, and police said company leaders were suspected of gross negligence. Police did not identify the firm by name.

Those three were released on bail but then rearrested by Hong Kong's anti-corruption authorities, who have also arrested a further eight suspects including scaffolding subcontractors, directors of an engineering consulting company and the renovation project managers.

Faulty fire alarms and foam panels under investigation

The apartment complex of eight, 31-story buildings in Tai Po, a suburb near Hong Kong's border with mainland China, was built in the 1980s. It had almost 2,000 apartments and more than 4,600 residents.

Many are now housed in short-term emergency shelters or city hotels, and authorities are working on longer-term solutions.

“It's heartbreaking,” said Jeffery Chan, a civil servant who came to pay his respects on Sunday.

“As a Hong Konger, seeing people in the place where we live lose their families, lose everything in just one night - if you put yourself in their shoes, it is unbearable. They need encouragement, support and help from the people of Hong Kong,” he said.

Also Read | Authorities probe corruption and negligence in Hong Kongs deadliest fire in decades

Preliminary investigations showed the fire started Wednesday afternoon on a lower-level scaffolding net of one of the buildings, and then spread rapidly inside as the foam panels caught fire and blew out windows, according to Chris Tang, Hong Kong's secretary for security. Winds helped the flames jump from building to building and soon seven of the eight were engulfed.

First responders found that some fire alarms in the complex, which housed many older people, did not sound when tested, according to Andy Yeung, the director of Hong Kong Fire Services.

The victims included seven Indonesian migrant workers, with several dozen more still missing, according to Indonesia's Foreign Ministry. The Philippines Consulate General in Hong Kong reported that one Filipina domestic worker died, while 12 others have yet to be located.

On Sunday afternoon, hundreds of Filipinos gathered on a pedestrian street in central Hong Kong, offering prayers and singing hymns in remembrance of those who perished in the fire.

Also Read | Hong Kong's deadliest blaze in years- Toll Hits 128 and rising

Meanwhile, in Beijing, China's Ministry of Emergency Management announced that it will conduct a nationwide inspection of high-rise buildings to detect and eliminate potential fire risks.

“Bamboo scaffolding, non-flame-retardant safety nets... and firefighting facilities and equipment such as fire hydrant systems, automatic sprinkler systems and automatic fire alarm systems, will be among the main items to be inspected,” the ministry said.

(With inputs from AP)

MENAFN30112025007365015876ID1110415264