(MENAFN) The fatality count from Wednesday's catastrophic Hong Kong blaze has climbed to 146, with 150 individuals' whereabouts unknown, as the city continues grieving victims of its most lethal fire in decades, local media outlets reported Sunday.

Hong Kong on Saturday initiated a three-day mourning period honoring victims of the devastating apartment complex inferno, which also wounded 79 people, including 12 firefighters, according to media.

Recovery operations persisted for a fifth consecutive day, though fires within the Wang Fuk Court apartment complex blocks have been contained.

Officials indicated the blaze's death toll will likely escalate as additional bodies are recovered from the structures, while approximately 150 people remained "unreachable."

The inferno ignited around midday Wednesday in the complex, which houses over 1,900 apartments, and propagated rapidly because of bamboo scaffolding positioned on the exterior for renovation projects.

The complex comprises eight towers with an estimated population exceeding 4,000 residents.

Police have apprehended two directors and an engineering consultant from Prestige Construction & Engineering Company on suspicion of manslaughter.

Officials state the bamboo scaffolding and foam plastic materials covering windows contributed substantially to the fire's rapid propagation.

On Friday, approximately 800 displaced residents relocated to hostels, hotels, and transitional apartments.

The incident represented the first occasion in 17 years that Hong Kong issued a Level 5 fire alarm, the highest designation on the city's five-tier scale.

MENAFN30112025000045017169ID1110415318