HONG KONG, Nov 30 (Reuters) – Anger over a deadly blaze at a Hong Kong high-rise apartment complex simmered on Sunday as Beijing warned against attempts to use the disaster to disrupt the city, while people across the financial hub continued to mourn for the more than 128 victims.

Police on Saturday detained one person who was part of a group that launched a petition demanding government accountability, an independent probe into possible corruption, proper resettlement for residents, and a review of construction oversight, two sources familiar with the matter said.

University student Miles Kwan, 24, was arrested on suspicion of trying to incite sedition in relation to the blaze in the Wang Fuk Court complex in the northern Tai Po district, the South China Morning Post reported. Hong Kong police did not respond on Sunday to a request for comment.

The online petition promoted by the group reached over 10,000 signatures by Saturday afternoon before it was closed.

A second petition with the same demands has been launched by a Tai Po resident who is now living overseas.

“Hongkongers demand the truth and justice,” wrote KY in the comment section of the new online petition.

The blaze that ripped through seven high-rise residential blocks near the border with mainland China has stunned Hong Kong and authorities have launched criminal and corruption investigations as anger and dismay grow.

The cause of the blaze, which killed 128 people and left 150 still missing, is still to be determined.

Authorities are on tenterhooks to avoid any broader public backlash after pro-democracy protests roiled the city in 2019, leading to a Beijing-imposed national security law.

China’s national security authorities on Saturday warned individuals against using the disaster to disrupt the city.

“We sternly warn the anti-China disruptors who attempt to ‘disrupt Hong Kong through disaster’. No matter what methods you use, you will certainly be held accountable and strictly punished under the Hong Kong national security law and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance.”

Authorities have arrested 11 people in connection with the city’s worst blaze in nearly 80 years as they investigate possible corruption and the use of unsafe materials during renovations at the Wang Fuk Court complex.

Rescue operations at the site concluded on Friday, though police say they may find more bodies as they comb through the hazardous, burnt-out buildings in coming weeks.

Hundreds of officers deployed to search for remains found no further bodies but rescued three cats and a turtle, police officials told a press conference.

The fire started on Wednesday afternoon and rapidly engulfed seven of the eight 32-storey blocks at the complex that were wrapped in bamboo scaffolding and green mesh and layered with foam insulation for the renovations.

Donations have poured in from large and small companies as well as other groups to assist the victims.

Authorities have said the fire alarms at the Wang Fuk Court estate, home to over 4,600 people, had not been working properly.

The fire is Hong Kong’s deadliest since 1948, when 176 people died in a warehouse blaze.

Residents of Wang Fuk Court were told by authorities last year they faced “relatively low fire risks” after complaining about fire hazards posed by the renovation, the city’s Labour Department said.

The residents raised concerns in September 2024, including about the potential flammability of the protective green mesh contractors used to cover the bamboo scaffolding, a department spokesperson said. (Reporting by Jessie Pang, James Pomfret, Writing by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Michael Perry)

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades has raised questions about corruption and negligence in the renovations of the apartment complex where at least 128 people died.

An intense fire broke out at Wang Fuk Court complex in Hong Kong’s northern suburbs Wednesday afternoon, with flames covering seven of the eight towers. The complex was home to some 4,800 residents, some of whom had raised safety concerns about the renovations more than year before the fire.

Police on Wednesday arrested three men from a construction company on suspicion of manslaughter and gross negligence. They were released on bail but then arrested by the Independent Commission Against Corruption, the authority said Saturday night, pointing to their leadership role in the renovations. ICAC had also previously arrested seven men and one woman associated with the project.

Police have not identified the company where the suspects worked, but documents posted to the homeowners association’s website showed that the Prestige Construction & Engineering Company was in charge of renovations. Police have seized boxes of documents from the company, where phones rang unanswered Thursday.

Officials also said they were investigating the materials used, both the netting on the scaffolding and the foam panels covering windows, and their role in the blaze.

For almost a year, some residents at the Wang Fuk Court complex had been raising safety concerns to Hong Kong authorities about the scaffolding materials being used in the renovation project, according to documents reviewed by the AP, specifically about the netting that covered the scaffolding.

Hong Kong’s labor department in a statement on Saturday confirmed it had received such complaints, adding that officials had carried out 16 inspections of Wang Fuk Court’s renovation project since July 2024, and had warned contractors multiple times in writing that they must ensure they met fire safety requirements. The city even carried out an inspection as late as one week before the fire.

The labor department said it had reviewed the product quality certificate of the netting and that it was in line with standards, but that the safety netting had not been the previous target of inspections.

Preliminary investigations showed the fire started on a lower-level scaffolding net of one of the buildings. It then spread rapidly as the foam panels caught fire, said Chris Tang, the city’s secretary for security. Police also said they had been looking at the highly flammable foam panels.

“The blaze ignited the foam panels, causing the glass to shatter and leading to a swift intensification of the fire and its spread into the interior spaces,” Tang said.

The labor department said later on Saturday that three prosecutions were brought against the company over breaches of safety regulations for working at height in the construction and convictions in two of the cases resulted in fines of totaling 30,000 Hong Kong dollars ($3,850). The company also was fined three times in 2023 for separate violations unrelated to the Tai Po project.

First responders also found that some fire alarms in the complex, which housed many older people, did not sound when tested, said Andy Yeung, the director of Hong Kong Fire Services. He did not specify how many were not working or if any of the others were.

It took firefighters a day to bring the fire under control, and it was not fully extinguished until Friday morning — some 40 hours after it started.

Crews prioritized apartments from which they had received emergency calls during the blaze but were unable to reach in the hours that the fire burned out of control, Derek Armstrong Chan, a deputy director of Hong Kong Fire Services, told reporters.

Twelve firefighters were among the 79 people injured in the blaze, and one firefighter was killed.

Even two days after the fire began, smoke continued to drift out of the charred skeletons of the buildings from the occasional flare-up.

While more bodies might be recovered, authorities said, crews have finished their search for anyone living trapped inside.

Authorities said Saturday they need to identify 44 more bodies out of the 128 recovered. About 150 people remain unaccounted for.

The dead included two Indonesian migrant workers, the Indonesian foreign ministry said Thursday. About 11 other migrants from the country who were working as domestic helpers in the apartment complex remain missing, Indonesian Consul General Yul Edison said Friday.

Near the site of the fire, Sara Yu held the hand of her 2-year-old son, Dominic, as they each placed a single white rose into a growing cluster of the flowers in a small children’s playground.

“I brought the kids here because I want them to understand that living in this world is something to be cherished,” she said, holding back tears.

Outside a building close to the scene of the fire where family members came to identify loved ones from photographs, people placed bouquets of white roses, lilies and carnations. “More than 128 innocent lives, what did they do wrong?” asked a sign placed among the flowers.

The city lowered flags to half staff in mourning, and Chief Executive John Lee, led a three-minute silence Saturday from the government headquarters with officials all dressed in black.

The fire was the deadliest in Hong Kong in decades. A 1996 fire in a commercial building in Kowloon killed 41 people. A warehouse fire in 1948 killed 176 people, according to the South China Morning Post.

Researcher Shihuan Chen in Beijing and writer David Rising in Hong Kong contributed to this report. Wu reported from Bangkok

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong firefighters found dozens more bodies Friday in an intensive apartment-by-apartment search of a high-rise complex where a massive fire engulfed seven buildings, and authorities arrested another 8 people involved in the towers’ renovation. The death toll in one of the city’s deadliest blazes rose to 128, and many remain unaccounted for.

First responders found that some fire alarms in the complex, which housed many older people, did not sound when tested, said Andy Yeung, the director of Hong Kong Fire Services, though he did not say how many were not working or if others were.

The blaze jumped rapidly from one building to the next as bamboo scaffolding covered in netting and foam panels apparently installed by a construction company caught fire.

Authorities on Friday arrested seven men and one woman, ranging in age from 40 to 63, including scaffolding subcontractors, directors of an engineering consultant company and project managers supervising the renovation, the Independent Commission Against Corruption said in a statement.

On Friday, crews prioritized apartments from which they had received emergency calls during the blaze but were unable to reach in the hours that the fire burned out of control, Derek Armstrong Chan, a deputy director of Hong Kong Fire Services, told reporters. It took firefighters some 24 hours to bring the fire under control, and it was not fully extinguished until Friday morning.

Even two days after the fire began, smoke continued to drift out of the charred skeletons of the buildings from the occasional flare-up.

Some 200 people remain unaccounted for, Secretary for Security Chris Tang told reporters. That includes 89 bodies that have not yet been identified. Yet more bodies might be recovered, authorities said, though crews have finished a search for anyone living trapped inside.

More than 2,300 firefighters and medical personnel were involved in the operation, and 12 firefighters were among the 79 people injured, Yeung said. One firefighter was also killed, he had said previously.

Katy Lo, 70, a resident of Wang Fuk Court, was not home when the fire started Wednesday. She rushed back roughly an hour later to see that the blaze had spread to her building.

“That’s my home.… I still can’t really believe what happened,” Lo said on Friday as she registered for government assistance for affected households. “This all still feels like a bad dream.”

The apartment complex of eight, 31-story buildings in Tai Po district, a suburb near Hong Kong’s border with mainland China, was built in the 1980s and had been undergoing a major renovation. It had almost 2,000 apartments and some 4,800 residents.

Three men — the directors and an engineering consultant of a construction company — were arrested Thursday on suspicion of manslaughter, and police said company leaders were suspected of gross negligence.

Police have not identified the company where the suspects worked, but documents posted to the homeowners association’s website showed that the Prestige Construction & Engineering Company was in charge of renovations. Police have seized boxes of documents from the company, where phones rang unanswered Thursday.

In addition to the new arrests Friday, the anti-corruption agency also searched the suspects’ offices and seized relevant documents and bank records.

Authorities suspected some materials on the exterior walls of the high-rise buildings did not meet fire resistance standards, allowing the unusually fast spread of the fire.

Police said they found highly flammable plastic foam panels attached to the windows on each floor of the one unaffected tower. The panels were believed to have been installed by the construction company but the purpose was not clear.

Preliminary investigations showed the fire started on a lower-level scaffolding net of one of the buildings, and then spread rapidly as the foam panels caught fire, said Tang, the secretary for security.

“The blaze ignited the foam panels, causing the glass to shatter and leading to a swift intensification of the fire and its spread into the interior spaces,” Tang said.

Authorities planned immediate inspections of housing complexes undergoing major renovations to ensure scaffolding and construction materials meet safety standards.

The fire was the deadliest in Hong Kong in decades. A 1996 fire in a commercial building in Kowloon killed 41 people. A warehouse fire in 1948 killed 176 people, according to the South China Morning Post.

Researcher Shihuan Chen in Beijing contributed to this report.

This story has been updated to correct the name of a fire services official to Derek Armstrong Chan, not Wong Ka Wing.

HONG KONG (AP) — The death toll from a massive fire that broke out at a residential apartment complex in Hong Kong has risen to 55, authorities said Thursday.

They said 51 people had been found dead on the scene, bringing the death toll to 55 including four others who had been brought to the hospital.

More than 70 people were injured, according to the city’s Hospital Authority, many suffering from burn and inhalation injuries.

Firefighters were still battling one of Hong Kong’s deadliest modern blazes for a second day, fighting to control the fire that blackened several high-rise towers. Firefighters said the operation could last until at least Thursday evening.

Thick smoke still poured out of the Wang Fuk Court complex in Tai Po district, a northern suburb near the border with the mainland, around midday Thursday. The fire that started midafternoon Wednesday had spread across seven of the complex’s eight buildings, and four of the towers were under control by morning, the city’s fire services said.

One firefighter was among the people confirmed dead, officials said.

Resident Lawrence Lee was waiting for news about his wife, who was still trapped in their apartment.

“When the fire started, I told her on the phone to escape. But once she left the flat, the corridor and stairs were all filled with smoke and it was all dark, so she had no choice but to go back to the flat,” he said, as he waited in one of the shelters overnight.

Winter and Sandy Chung, who lived in one of the towers, said they saw sparks fly around as they evacuated Wednesday afternoon. Although they were safe, they were worried about their home. “I couldn’t sleep the entire night,” Winter Chung, 75, told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Three men, the directors and an engineering consultant of a construction company, were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. Police have not directly named the company where they work.

“We have reason to believe that those in charge of the construction company were grossly negligent,” said Eileen Chung, a senior superintendent of police.

Police on Thursday also searched the office of Prestige Construction & Engineering Company, which the AP confirmed was in charge of renovations in the tower complex. Police seized boxes of documents as evidence, according to local media. Phones for Prestige rang unanswered.

Authorities suspected some materials on the exterior walls of the high-rise buildings did not meet fire resistance standards, allowing the unusually fast spread of the fire.

Police also said they found Styrofoam ― which is highly flammable ― attached to the windows on each floor near the elevator lobby of the one unaffected tower. It was believed to have been installed by the construction company but the purpose was not clear. Secretary for Security Chris Tang said they would investigate the materials further.

The fire started on the external scaffolding of a 32-story tower, then spread on the bamboo scaffolding and construction netting to the inside of the building and then to the other buildings, likely aided by windy conditions. Firefighters aimed water at the intense flames from high on ladder trucks, but conditions for fighting the fire and rescuing people remained challenging.

The housing complex consisted of eight buildings with almost 2,000 apartments for about 4,800 residents, including many older people. It was built in the 1980s and had been undergoing a major renovation.

About 900 people were evacuated to temporary shelters overnight, and Hong Kong leader John Lee said around midnight that contact had been lost with 279 people. Rescues were continuing, but an updated figure wasn’t available by midday Thursday.

Lee said separately on Thursday that officials will be carrying out immediate inspections of all housing estates across the city that are undergoing major renovation work to ensure scaffolding and construction materials meet safety standards.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping expressed condolences to the firefighter who died and extended sympathies to the families of the victims, according to state broadcaster CCTV. He also urged efforts to minimize casualties and losses.

The fire was the deadliest in Hong Kong in decades. In November 1996, 41 people died in a commercial building in Kowloon in a fire that lasted for around 20 hours.

Wu reported from Bangkok. Researcher Shihuan Chen in Beijing contributed to this report.

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in years blazed late into the night on Wednesday as the city’s leader confirmed at least 36 people, including a firefighter, had died and another 279 people were reported missing.

Hundreds of residents were evacuated as the blaze spread across seven high-rise apartment buildings in a housing complex in Tai Po district, a suburb in the New Territories. At least 29 others remained hospitalized.

“Police and the Fire Services Department have already set up a dedicated investigation team to investigate the cause of the fire,” John Lee, Hong Kong’s chief executive, said.

He said the fire was “coming under control” shortly past midnight.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Wednesday expressed condolences to the firefighter who died and extended sympathies to the families of the victims, according to state broadcaster CCTV. He also urged efforts to minimize casualties and losses.

The housing complex consisted of eight buildings with almost 2,000 apartments housing about 4,800 residents, including many elderly people. The housing complex was built in the 1980s and has recently been undergoing a major renovation.

Fire chiefs said high temperatures at the scene made it difficult for crews to mount rescue operations. It was not immediately known how the fire started, but officials said the fire started at the external scaffolding of one of the buildings, a 32-storey tower, and later spread to inside the building and then to nearby buildings, likely aided by windy conditions.

A column of flames and thick smoke rose as the blaze spread quickly on bamboo scaffolding and construction netting that had been set up around the exterior of the buildings. About 900 people were evacuated to temporary shelters.

Multiple buildings close to each other were set ablaze, with bright flames and smoke shooting out of windows as night fell. Authorities said that hundreds of firefighters, police officers and paramedics were deployed. Firefighters aimed water at the intense flames from high up on ladder trucks.

The blaze, which started mid-afternoon, was upgraded a level 5 alarm — the highest level of severity — as night fell. Authorities said that conditions remained very challenging for firefighters.

“Debris and scaffolding of the affected buildings (is) falling down,” said Derek Armstrong Chan, deputy director of Fire Service operations. “The temperature inside the buildings concerned is very high. It’s difficult for us to enter the building and go upstairs to conduct firefighting and rescue operations.”

The fire department said that it received “numerous” calls requesting assistance. It said some residents remained trapped as of Wednesday night.

Firefighters deployed more than 140 fire trucks and more than 60 ambulances to the scene.

The dead included a 37-year-old firefighter, while another received treatment for heat exhaustion, Director of Fire Services Andy Yeung said.

District officials in Tai Po have opened temporary shelters for people left homeless by the fire.

“I’ve given up thinking about my property,” a resident who only provided her surname, Wu, told local TV station TVB. “Watching it burn like that was really frustrating.”

Tai Po is a suburban area in the New Territories, in the northern part of Hong Kong and near the border with the mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen.

Bamboo scaffolding is a common sight in Hong Kong at building construction and renovation projects, though the government said earlier this year that it would start phasing it out for public projects because of safety concerns.

The fire is the deadliest in Hong Kong in years. In November 1996, 41 people died in a commercial building in Kowloon in a level 5 fire that lasted for around 20 hours.

Moritsugu reported from Beijing. Researcher Chen Shihuan contributed to this report.