Death toll rises to 128 in Hong Kong residential fire as 8 more arrested over towers' renovation

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong firefighters found dozens more bodies Friday in an intensive apartment-by-apartment search of a high-rise complex where a massive fire engulfed seven buildings, and authorities arrested another 8 people involved in the towers' renovation. The death toll in one of the city's deadliest blazes rose to 128, and many remain unaccounted for.

First responders found that some fire alarms in the complex, which housed many older people, did not sound when tested, said Andy Yeung, the director of Hong Kong Fire Services, though he did not say how many were not working or if others were.

The blaze jumped rapidly from one building to the next as foam panels and bamboo scaffolding covered in netting apparently installed by a construction company caught fire.

Authorities on Friday arrested seven men and one woman, ranging in age from 40 to 63, including scaffolding subcontractors, directors of an engineering consultant company and project managers supervising the renovation, the Independent Commission Against Corruption said in a statement.

On Friday, crews prioritized apartments from which they had received emergency calls during the blaze but were unable to reach in the hours that the fire burned out of control, Derek Armstrong Chan, a deputy director of Hong Kong Fire Services, told reporters. It took firefighters a day to bring the fire under control, and it was not fully extinguished until Friday morning — some 40 hours after it started.

Even two days after the fire began, smoke continued to drift out of the charred skeletons of the buildings from the occasional flare-up.

Some 200 people remain unaccounted for, Secretary for Security Chris Tang told reporters. That includes 89 bodies that have not yet been identified. Yet more bodies might be recovered, authorities said, though crews have finished a search for anyone living trapped inside.

More than 2,300 firefighters and medical personnel were involved in the operation, and 12 firefighters were among the 79 people injured, Yeung said. One firefighter was also killed, he had said previously.

Katy Lo, 70, a resident of Wang Fuk Court, was not home when the fire started Wednesday. She rushed back roughly an hour later to see that the blaze had spread to her building.

“That’s my home.… I still can’t really believe what happened,” Lo said on Friday as she registered for government assistance for affected households. “This all still feels like a bad dream.”

The dead included two Indonesian migrant workers, the Indonesian foreign ministry said Thursday. About 11 other migrants from the country who were working as domestic helpers in the apartment complex remained missing, Indonesian Consul General Yul Edison said.

The government said all official flags in the city will be lowered to half staff in mourning from Saturday to Monday. The city's leader, John Lee, will lead a three-minute silence Saturday from the government headquarters.

The apartment complex of eight, 31-story buildings in Tai Po district, a suburb near Hong Kong’s border with mainland China, was built in the 1980s and had been undergoing a major renovation. It had almost 2,000 apartments and some 4,800 residents.

Three men — the directors and an engineering consultant of a construction company — were arrested Thursday on suspicion of manslaughter, and police said company leaders were suspected of gross negligence.

Police have not identified the company where the suspects worked, but documents posted to the homeowners association's website showed that the Prestige Construction & Engineering Company was in charge of renovations. Police have seized boxes of documents from the company, where phones rang unanswered Thursday.

In addition to the new arrests Friday, the anti-corruption agency also searched the suspects' offices and seized relevant documents and bank records.

Police said they found highly flammable plastic foam panels attached to the windows on each floor of the one unaffected tower. The panels were believed to have been installed by the construction company but the purpose was not clear.

Preliminary investigations showed the fire started on a lower-level scaffolding net of one of the buildings, and then spread rapidly as the foam panels caught fire, said Tang, the secretary for security.

"The blaze ignited the foam panels, causing the glass to shatter and leading to a swift intensification of the fire and its spread into the interior spaces,” Tang said.

Authorities suspected some materials on the exterior walls of the high-rise buildings did not meet fire resistance standards, allowing the unusually fast spread of the fire.

Authorities planned immediate inspections of housing complexes undergoing major renovations to ensure scaffolding and construction materials meet safety standards.

The fire was the deadliest in Hong Kong in decades. A 1996 fire in a commercial building in Kowloon killed 41 people. A warehouse fire in 1948 killed 176 people, according to the South China Morning Post.

Researcher Shihuan Chen in Beijing contributed to this report.

This story has been updated to correct the name of a fire services official to Derek Armstrong Chan, not Wong Ka Wing.

An aerial view of the burnt buildings after a deadly fire that started Wednesday at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong's New Territories, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

A man walks past charred buildings burnt after a deadly fire that started Wednesday at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong's New Territories, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Members of the Disaster Victims Identification Unit walks to the site of a Wednesday fire at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong's New Territories, Friday, Nov. 28 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

A resident smokes as he looks out towards buildings burnt after a deadly fire that started Wednesday at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong's New Territories, Friday, Nov. 28 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

An aerial view of the burnt buildings after a deadly fire that started Wednesday at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong's New Territories, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

A burned building is seen at the scene of the fire that started Wednesday at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong's New Territories, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

Burned buildings are seen at the scene of the fire at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong's New Territories, Friday, Nov. 28 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

Volunteers distribute donated supplies following the fire that started Wednesday at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong's New Territories, Friday, Nov. 28 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

Burned buildings are seen at the scene of the fire that started Wednesday at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong's New Territories, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

Burned buildings are seen at the scene of the fire at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong's New Territories, Friday, Nov. 28 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

Defending champion Arsenal advanced to the Women’s Champions League semifinals despite a 1-0 loss to Chelsea in a London derby on Wednesday.

With a 3-1 home victory in the first leg of the quarterfinal last week, Arsenal reached the last four on a 3-2 aggregate score and will next face either Wolfsburg or Lyonnes.

Sjoeke Nüsken scored for Chelsea from close rage in the fourth minute of stoppage time at Stamford Bridge.

In the dramatic last few minutes, Veerle Buurman hit the post for Chelsea and Arsenal goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar saved a goal-bound header by Nüsken.

Chelsea coach Sonia Bompastor received a red card in the dying seconds of the match.

The home team was pressuring Arsenal from the start with forward Sam Kerr particularly posing a threat. Kerr missed the first leg because she was playing for Australia at the Asian Cup.

Earlier, Bayern Munich rallied with two late goals in three minutes to beat Manchester United 2-1 and advance to the semifinals on a 5-3 aggregate score.

Glódís Viggósdóttir started the rally in the 81st with a header after a corner kick, and Linda Dallmann fired from inside the area after another corner to send Bayern to its first semifinal since 2021.

Making its debut in the quarterfinals, United traveled to Germany after losing to Bayern Munich 3-2 in the opening leg at Old Trafford.

The visitors dominated the first half with Melvine Malard putting them up 1-0 after 11 minutes. The France forward used a blunder by Bayern goalkeeper Ena Mahmutovic to score into an empty net, and equalize the aggregate score at 3-3.

The German powerhouse applied pressure in the second half, but Manchester’s defense led by American goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce held firm until Viggósdóttir struck.

Bayern will face either Barcelona or Real Madrid in the last four.

The remaining two quarterfinals are Thursday: Barcelona hosts Real Madrid and leads 6-2 from the first leg; Wolfsburg takes a 1-0 lead to Lyon.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Arsenal's Alessia Russo, left, shoots the ball during the Women's Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Chelsea and Arsenal in London, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Chelsea's Veerle Buurman reacts following defeat in the Women's Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Chelsea and Arsenal in London, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Arsenal's Alessia Russo, left, and Chelsea's Ellie Carpenter battle for the ball during the Women's Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Chelsea and Arsenal in London, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Bayern's Linda Dallmann, left, celebrates with Bayern's Giulia Gwinn after she scores her side's second goal during the Women's Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Bayern Munich and Manchester United in Munich, Germany, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Manchester United's goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce leaps for the ball during the Women's Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Bayern Munich and Manchester United in Munich, Germany, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

The ball lands behin Manchester United's goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce bottom left to make it 1-1 during the Women's Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Bayern Munich and Manchester United in Munich, Germany, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa via AP)

Manchester United's Melvine Malard, second right, celebrates scoring her side's frst goal during the Women's Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Bayern Munich and Manchester United in Munich, Germany, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Bayern's Glodis Viggosdottir, centre rear, scores her sides first goal during the Women's Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Bayern Munich and Manchester United in Munich, Germany, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Arsenal's Stina Blackstenius, left, celebrates scoring their side's first goal of the game during the Women's Champions League soccer match between Arsenal and Chelsea in London, Tuesday, March 24, 2026. (John Walton/PA via AP)