The death toll from the Wang Fuk Court fire has risen to 159, including a one-year-old infant, Hong Kong authorities have announced.
The ages of the identified victims ranged from one to 97, Police Commissioner Joe Chow said on Wednesday, adding that 49 of them were men and 91 women.
The commissioner also said that police had arrested six employees of a fire safety contractor in relation to the deadly blaze.
All six are suspected of falsely reporting to the Fire Services Department that the fire alarms would not be deactivated during maintenance work.
Five are in custody for further investigation, while one has been granted bail.
As of Wednesday afternoon, a total of 140 bodies had been identified, Chief Superintendent Karen Tsang of the police’s casualty inquiry unit said.
A total of 19 bodies are still unidentified, and 31 residents remain unaccounted for.
The police force’s Disaster Victim Identification Unit (DVIU) completed its sweep of all seven burnt towers of Wang Fu Court, Chow said, without specifying exactly when.
The DVIU has found 70 bodies in Wang Cheong House, the first building to catch fire on Wednesday, and 82 bodies in Wang Tai House.
The special unit also found three bodies each in Wang Sun House and Wang Tao House, and one in Wang Shing House.
The body of another resident was found outside Wang Fuk Estate, but it is unclear which building they lived in.
Chow warned, however, that the death toll may still rise as the police have yet to confirm whether some remains found in the housing blocks belonged to humans or animals.
The police will also search through some of the scaffolding that collapsed in the fire to look for bodies.
Migrant workers
Of the 79 injured residents, 42 have been discharged from hospitals, Tsang said. The remaining 37 are still in hospital, including four who are in critical condition and nine in serious condition, while the rest are stable.
Meanwhile, 29 of the 32 Indonesian migrant domestic workers earlier reported by the Indonesian consulate as unaccounted for are now safe, she added.
Thirteen of them were not working at Wang Fuk Court at the time of the fire, as they had already changed jobs.
See also: Nearly HK$800,000 for families of migrant workers killed in Tai Po fire, Hong Kong labour chief says
The police have requested additional information from the Indonesian consulate about the three remaining Indonesian workers, as details provided by the consulate were incomplete, said Tsang.
Of the 94 Filipina domestic workers employed at the housing estate, 92 are confirmed safe. One was injured, and another was killed in the fire, Tsang added.
“The authorities and the consulates will get in touch with the victims’ families overseas to follow up and support them in any way possible,” she said.
