Hong Kong revises apartment complex fire death toll to 168

Hong Kong police confirmed that 168 people died in the massive fire that tore through an apartment complex in the city last November, bringing the identification process to a close.

Police said on Thursday that forensic examinations of all the remains recovered from the site in Tai Po district had been completed, allowing authorities to confirm the final death toll.

“All remains and bodies from the incident have been identified with nobody unaccounted for," security secretary Chris Tang said.

The updated figure is seven higher than previously announced.

The victims ranged in age from six months to 98 years. They included one firefighter, five construction workers, two interior decorators, and 10 foreign domestic helpers (nine Indonesians and one Filipina), police said.

Fifty-eight of the victims were male and 110 female, according to police.

Authorities said the identities of the deceased would not be released at this stage, citing the wishes of bereaved families.

The fire broke out at Wang Fuk Court, a residential complex built in the 1980s in the northeast of Hong Kong.

Home to around 4,600 residents, the estate had a high proportion of elderly people, with nearly 40 per cent aged 65 or above, according to census data cited by the BBC.

Thousands of firefighters were deployed to battle the blaze, which burned for over a day. One firefighter, 37-year-old Ho Wai-ho, died during the operation. Four victims were pronounced dead after being taken to hospital while the remaining 164 bodies were recovered at the scene.

Investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing. Officials previously said that a protective mesh installed during renovation work didn’t meet fire safety standards, and likely allowed the flames to spread rapidly. Fire alarms at the complex were also reportedly faulty, according to the Japanese broadcaster NHK.

Hong Kong leader John Lee said earlier this week that more than 30 people had been arrested so far on suspicion of manslaughter, fraud, and corruption.

In the wake of the tragedy, the city government formed an independent committee to investigate the fire. The key task now is to determine the precise cause of the tragedy and tighten supervision to prevent a similar occurrence.