The fire in Hong Kong finally engulfed the old rooms as the death toll is close to 130, the search for victims continues

Hong Kong – Death count from the fire that rips through the hong kong residence That rose to 128 on Friday as more bodies were found in the two towers, authorities said. Security Secretary Chris Tang told reporters at the scene that the search for victims was ongoing and the numbers were still rising.

The fire at the Wang Fuk Court Complex started on Wednesday afternoon and was fully extinguished by Friday morning. Dozens of people, including firefighters, were injured in the blaze.

Firefighters were still working on a high-rise apartment building in a last-ditch effort to find anyone alive after seven of the city’s deadliest fires in one of the city’s last remaining blazes.

Crews were prioritizing houses that received more than two calls for help during the fire, but were unable to reach due to the severity of the fire, the Deputy Director of Hong Kong Fire Services told reporters early Friday morning.

“Our firefighting operations are almost complete,” he said.

The fire started on Wednesday in one of the towers of Wang Fuk Court’s, jumping quickly from one to the other as the wamboo scaffolding covered with net, the site of its rehabilitation, tied.

It took more than 1,000 firefighters 24 hours to bring the five-alarm blaze under control, and nearly two days later, smoke continues to billow from the cheap bones of buildings from occasional explosions.

The final search of the buildings is expected to be completed later on Friday, when officials said they would officially end the logistical phase of the operation in Tai Po District, Northern China’s Hong Kong region.

It was not clear how many people may be inside the buildings, which had about 2,000 houses and about 4,800 residents. Hong Kong leader John Lee said early Thursday morning that officials had not been able to contact 279 residents.

“We will try to force entry into all the seven affected blocks to ensure that no further damage can occur,” said Chan..

He said the updated number of missing people could not be calculated until the rescue and recovery operation was completed.

The apartments were found in 25 unanswered 25 unanswered, prioritized, especially on the upper floors, where the fire was finally extinguished, he said.

More than 70 people were injured in the fire, including 11 firefighters, and about 900 people were kept in temporary shelters.

Most of the injured were in the first two parts of the fire, Chan said.

Arrest amid fatal arson investigation

The residence housed many elderly people. It was built in the 1980s and had undergone a major renovation. The Hong Kong anti-degradation agency on Thursday was investigating possible corruption related to the renovation project.

Three men, directors and an engineering consultant of a construction company, were arrested on suspicion of murder, and police said the company’s leaders were accused of gross negligence.

The police did not identify the company where the suspects work, but the Associated Press confirmed that the Prestige Controw Police took boxes of documents from the company, where the phones were ringing on Thursday.

Authorities suspected some materials on the exterior walls of the high-rise buildings did not meet fire resistance standards, allowing the fire to spread irregularly. There was also word Friday that the fire alarm systems in at least some of the affected buildings may have malfunctioned.

Police said they found Foam Plastic panels – highly flammable – stuck to windows on each floor near one of the defunct towers. The panels are believed to have been installed by a construction company but the purpose was unclear.

The authorities have planned a rapid inspection of many housing estates designed for large-scale construction to ensure that masonry and construction materials meet safety standards.

The fire was Hong Kong’s deadliest in decades. A 1996 fire at a commercial building in Kowloon killed 41 people.