Hong Kong begins 3 days of mourning as more arrests made over deadly blaze

Hong Kong began a three-day official mourning period on Saturday for victims of the city’s deadliest blaze in decades as residents queued at the site of the tragedy and various halls to pay their respects, penning tributes and laying flowers.

For the first time since the fire broke out on Wednesday at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, the death toll remained at 128 on Saturday. No further human remains were recovered, while about 150 people remained “unreachable”, according to police.

Graft-busters arrested three people who had previously been detained for manslaughter but later released, this time for alleged corruption behind the renovation work at the estate, and national security police took away a university student for questioning after his posts online and the distribution of fliers in public demanding an independent inquiry.

The day started on a sombre note under cloudy skies as Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu and principal officials gathered at government headquarters at 8am to observe a three-minute silence in honour of the victims of the inferno.

Liaison office chief Zhou Ji and two officials from Beijing’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO), Xu Qifang and Nong Rong, who are in the city to help with disaster relief efforts, were among those present, all dressed in black.

Cui Jianchun, commissioner of the foreign ministry’s arm in Hong Kong, along with his deputies and staff, also observed three minutes of silence outside the office building, while soldiers from the local garrison of the People’s Liberation Army expressed condolences in ceremonies.