Hong Kong mourns victims of apartment blaze that killed 128 and counting

Hong Kong’s leaders oversee a ceremony to mourn the at least 128 people killed in a high-rise apartment complex fire, a toll that is likely to rise further with 200 others still unaccounted for days after the tragedy.

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 in the district of Tai Po, near the border with mainland China, concluded on Friday, though police say they may find more bodies as they search the burnt-out buildings as part of ongoing investigations.

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

Authorities have said the fire alarms at the estate, home to more than 4,600 people, had not been working properly.