Death toll in Hong Kong rises to 128, at least 200 missing PHOTO/VIDEO

On Friday morning, firefighters were searching the high-rise buildings, trying to find anyone alive after the massive fire that spread to seven of the eight towers.

During the morning, more and more people arrived at the Kwong Fuk Estate community center, next to Wang Fuk Court, to identify bodies being recovered from the damaged buildings. Many of the names of the deceased have not yet been released.

Rescue teams prioritized the apartments from which they received more than twenty calls for help during the fire, but were unable to reach them, Hong Kong Fire Service Deputy Director Derek Armstrong Chan told reporters.

• Massive fire engulfs skyscrapers; firefighters are powerless; horrific footage released VIDEO/PHOTO

“We will make every effort to forcibly enter all units in the seven buildings to ensure there are no other possible victims,” Chan added.

The fire, which began Wednesday afternoon, quickly spread through the Wang Fuk Court residential complex in the northern Tai Po district. The eight-tower complex, home to over 4,600 people, was under renovation and wrapped in bamboo scaffolding and green mesh, which are believed to have facilitated the spread of the fire.

Some apartments still burning

By Friday morning, the fires were largely contained, although authorities reported that some apartments were still burning and said they wanted to prevent the flames from spreading and reigniting other parts of the buildings.

Most of the deceased were found in two of the seven towers that caught fire, while most survivors were rescued from the others. The number of missing had not been updated since early Thursday, when it was over 250.

A man identified only as Mr. Lau said that his parents were still listed as missing, but he believes they did not survive. Sobbing, he told reporters that he had no information.

“At the scene I don’t know anything. I just want to know whether my parents are alive or dead. If they have died, I don’t even want to see the bodies — I just want to know that they are gone, so that I don’t have to worry constantly.”

Another resident who lived on the 10th floor of one of the towers told The Guardian that her family was safe, but her neighbors were missing.

“I don’t want to watch TV, I don’t want to follow community groups, I don’t want to read the news on my phone. I just want life to go back to normal, but right now it is very hard for me.”

Foreign nationals among the victims

The Consul General of Indonesia, Yul Edison, arrived on Friday afternoon to assist with the identification of the deceased.

He told reporters that at least one of the victims was an Indonesian citizen — many of whom were employed as domestic helpers in apartments like these. A spokesperson for the NGO Migrant Workers Mission said that 11 Indonesian and 19 Filipino domestic helpers are still listed as missing, out of 119 known to live in the building.

A web application, crowdsourced from residents, collected reports on each building, identifying individual apartments in each tower along with available information about the residents.

“A 41-year-old man went missing at 4:45 PM,” one report from Block F, where the fire started, stated. “His last message said he was trapped in stairwell 25–26.” Another report confirmed the deaths of a 60-year-old man, a 90-year-old woman, and a 40-year-old Indian citizen who lived with them as a domestic helper in an 11th-floor apartment. Eight floors above them, it was reported that four people died in a single apartment.

Three people arrested

Police and anti-corruption authorities are investigating the cause of the fire. Three individuals from the construction company involved in the multi-year renovation of the complex have been arrested.

Officials have focused on the bamboo scaffolding around the building, as well as the green mesh that covered it, and the highly flammable polystyrene that authorities later found had been used in elevator window coverings on every floor.

This has prompted calls for stricter fire safety laws in the construction sector.

“There is no law that mandates the use of flame-retardant materials,” said Lee Kwong-sing, president of the Hong Kong Institute of Safety, according to the state broadcaster RTHK.

“It is only mentioned in the Ministry of Labour’s codes of practice, so many people may not comply because it is not illegal. But if you turn such codes into mandatory requirements… then it will be a completely different story.”