Crowds gather at site of deadly Hong Kong blaze as Beijing warns against protests

More than a thousand people gathered in Hong Kong on Sunday to mourn victims of the city’s deadliest fire in 75 years, as Beijing warned against any protest.

More than 1,000 people lined a canal near the burnt-out Wang Fuk Court housing complex to lay white flowers and leave messages for the 146 confirmed dead. The cause of the fire, which tore through a high-rise apartment complex, remains under investigation amid rising anger over missed safety warnings and suspected unsafe construction work.

Police said the death toll rose after officers completed a sweep of five of the charred towers, finding some bodies in stairwells and on rooftops where residents tried to escape. More than 40 people remain missing.

The smell of smoke still lingered four days after the blaze swept across the exterior of seven residential towers under renovation in Hong Kong’s northern Tai Po district.

Among the mourners was 28-year-old Joey Yeung, whose grandmother’s home was destroyed. “I can’t accept it,” she said. “At least give some justice to the families of the deceased - to those who are still alive.”

Seven Indonesian domestic workers and one Filipino helper are among the dead, while dozens of migrant workers remain unaccounted for. Hundreds attended a separate outdoor prayer meeting held by the city’s Filipino community.

On Saturday, police detained 24-year-old Miles Kwan, who had helped launch a petition calling for an independent probe into possible corruption and construction oversight failures, according to two people familiar with the case. The petition gathered more than 10,000 signatures before it was closed. A second petition started overseas has drawn more than 2,700 signatures.

The fire has shocked Hong Kong, prompting criminal and corruption investigations. China’s national security authorities issued a warning on Saturday, saying individuals must not use the disaster to “plunge Hong Kong back into the chaos” of the 2019 protests. They said anyone seeking to “disrupt Hong Kong through disaster” would be “strictly punished”.

Authorities have arrested 11 people as they examine the use of unsafe materials during the renovation works. Rescue operations ended on Friday, though police say more bodies may still be found as crews continue to search the hazardous buildings.

The blaze began on Wednesday afternoon and quickly tore through seven of the eight 32-storey blocks, which were wrapped in bamboo scaffolding, green mesh and foam insulation. Officials say the fire alarms in the complex, home to more than 4,600 people, were not functioning properly.

It is Hong Kong’s deadliest fire since 1948, when 176 people died in a warehouse blaze.

Residents had complained last year about the fire risks posed by the renovation but were told the danger was “relatively low”, according to the Labour Department. They raised concerns again in September 2024 about the flammability of the green protective mesh covering the scaffolding.

Police say a full search of all damaged buildings may take three to four weeks to complete.

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