Hong Kong mourns as apartment fire death toll rises to 146

Hong Kong's grieving residents have flocked to the scene of the devastating apartment fire, leaving bouquets of flowers at a makeshift memorial in honor of the 146 victims. The tragedy, which occurred in the Wang Fuk Court complex in Tai Po, has left thousands homeless and searching for loved ones.

As investigators continue to search the burnt-out buildings, they have discovered more bodies, bringing the total death toll to 146. The Hong Kong police's disaster victim identification unit is working tirelessly to identify the victims, with officers finding bodies both inside apartment units and on rooftops.

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined, but authorities are keen to avoid any backlash by linking it to pro-democracy protests that roiled the city in 2019. Instead, they have launched an investigation into whether safety regulations were breached during renovations at the complex.

Renovations had been underway when the fire broke out on Wednesday, with workers using foam boards to block up windows and bamboo scaffolding draped with nylon netting. The disaster has exposed serious deficiencies in site safety management, according to government officials.

Many of those affected by the disaster are being housed in emergency shelters or city hotels while longer-term solutions are worked out. Residents have been left to come to terms with the loss of their families and homes, with many expressing a sense of hopelessness and despair.

A civil servant who came to pay his respects on Sunday said that seeing people losing everything in just one night was "unbearable" and that they needed encouragement, support and help from the people of Hong Kong. The government has announced plans for a nationwide inspection of high-rise buildings to identify and remove fire hazards.

The tragedy is being described as one of the worst on record in Hong Kong since a warehouse blaze in 1948 killed 176 people. As the city struggles to come to terms with this devastating loss, the focus is now on recovery and rebuilding, but for many, the pain will be hard to bear.

OMG u can't even make up ur life in HK right?? Like, what's next? A fire at a temple or something? On a serious note tho, this is just devastating. I mean 146 ppl is crazy! And those renovations they were doin? Yeah no wonder it caught fire like a popcorn factory in a cinema . The gov should probs get their act together ASAP. Anyway, hope the people of HK can bounce back from this .

this tragedy is just so heartbreaking i keep thinking about all those families who lost everything in an instant it's like they were living their lives one day and then... nothing and the fact that safety regulations weren't followed during renovations is just a huge red flag it's not acceptable to put people's lives at risk like this we need to make sure something like this never happens again so my question is what can be done to prevent such disasters in the future? are there new fire safety laws being implemented or stricter building codes that need to be followed?

man... cant believe what happened its just so sad that all those ppl lost their lives & homes in one night. and the gov's trying to sweep it under the rug by not linking it to the protests like whats gonna make a difference tho? they need to take responsibility & tell us the truth about what went wrong. renovation regulations are super important but so is safety. how many ppl have to die before we learn from our mistakes? and the fact that they're just housing people in emergency shelters or hotels for now is just not enough... need proper solutions & support ASAP

.. 146 ppl lost their lives in this fire... it's just devastating . I mean, think about all those families torn apart, left with nothing... no homes, no belongings... it's just so sad . And the cause of the fire is still unknown... how can that be? We need answers, not just empty promises from the gov't. The fact that they're trying to avoid linking it to pro-democracy protests just shows how scared they are... but we shouldn't let them hide behind this tragedy . At least they're doing a nationwide inspection of high-rise buildings now... maybe something will actually get done about fire safety in this city . But for now, my heart goes out to all those affected by this disaster .

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that 146 ppl lost their lives in a fire . I mean, what were they doing w/ foam boards & bamboo scaffolding? Did the building even have working sprinklers? Like, how can we be sure renovations didn't just create more problems? I need some vids of the fire scene & pics of the burnt-out buildings 2 understand what happened.

I'm also confused about why authorities are trying 2 avoid linking this 2 pro-democracy protests. Did they think ppl would believe it was an accident all along? And what's w/ the "nationwide inspection" plan? How many ppl will be affected by that? Are we just gonna build more safe buildings w/ new materials & hope?

It's heartbreaking 2 see people losing their homes & livelihoods. I can only imagine how hard it must be 4 those who lost loved ones . We need 2 know more about the investigation & what's being done 2 prevent this from happening again. Where r the resources? Are we just gonna rely on emergency shelters & government support?

Ugh, what a nightmare ... I mean, my heart goes out to all those people affected by this terrible tragedy . It's just so senseless, you know? Like, what's the point of having safety regulations if they're not even enforced properly? The fact that workers were using foam boards and bamboo scaffolding to block up windows is just...wow, talk about a recipe for disaster . And now thousands are left homeless and searching for their loved ones...it's just heartbreaking .

I'm glad the government is finally taking this seriously and launching an investigation into site safety management . Maybe they can actually learn from this tragedy and do something about it, you know? But until then, I guess we're all stuck dealing with the aftermath of this devastating loss . Let's just hope that everyone affected by this disaster gets the support and help they need .

This fire tragedy is absolutely heartbreaking, you know? I mean, can you even imagine losing everything in one go like that? The thought of 146 people not coming home is just devastating . And it's not just the victims' families who are suffering, but also thousands of people left homeless and searching for loved ones .

The cause of the fire might still be unknown, but it's clear that there were major safety lapses on site . The fact that workers used foam boards to block up windows instead of proper fireproofing measures is just staggering . And now, the government has announced a nationwide inspection of high-rise buildings... hopefully this can prevent something like this from happening again in the future .

It's so sad that people are being forced to come to terms with losing their homes and families . The city needs to rally around these affected individuals and provide them with the support and encouragement they need . And to the civil servant who spoke out about his feelings, I couldn't agree more ... this tragedy is indeed unbearable, but we can get through it together .

I'm still trying to process what's happening over there ... 146 innocent lives lost in a fire that could've been prevented if safety regulations were followed . It's heartbreaking to see people losing everything they had worked so hard for . The government needs to take responsibility and not just sweep this under the rug . We need answers, we need justice, and we need help for these families ASAP . This tragedy is a wake-up call for our city to re-examine its safety standards and make sure something like this never happens again .

I'm still trying to wrap my head around how this could happen in our own backyard . The safety regulations at play here are just appalling, and it's clear that cost-cutting measures didn't care about human lives . It's also really worrying that they're not linking the fire to those protests... if we don't get to the bottom of this, how can we trust our buildings and infrastructure? And what's with the lack of support for the families of the victims? A civil servant saying people need encouragement is just a Band-Aid solution - where's the real help? We need concrete actions, not just empty words...

This is just heartbreaking... 146 innocent lives lost in an instant. I can only imagine how traumatized those families must be. The thought of workers using foam boards as a fire barrier is just mind-boggling . It's like, what were they thinking? And the fact that it was during renovations when safety regulations clearly weren't being followed... ugh, just so frustrating.

I'm really worried about those who are left without homes and loved ones. The government needs to step up and provide proper support ASAP. Emergency shelters and city hotels can only do so much . We need a long-term solution that addresses the root causes of this tragedy.

And what's really concerning is that the cause of the fire hasn't been determined yet... it feels like they're just sweeping it under the rug . Safety inspections should be done ASAP to prevent this from happening again. It's just not right .