Death toll rises to 128published at 10:07
At least 128 people are now known to have died in the tower block fire, authorities say. At a press conference, they add that 16 bodies remain inside the buildings.
Hong Kong Police have confirmed fire services are expected to give a news conference shortly – at 07:00 GMT (15:00 local time).
Senior Fire Department officials are expected to address the media.
As we’ve been reporting, firefighting operations appear to have been fully completed, while the bamboo scaffolding remains visibly entangled and damaged following the extinguishing of fire.
Families of missing persons remain at the scene, anxiously awaiting updates.
Fire ‘largely extinguished’ by Friday morningpublished at 09:25.
As we’ve been reporting, firefighting operations at Wang Fuk Court have ended, nearly two whole days after the blaze first broke out on Wednesday afternoon.
The fire, which quickly engulfed seven out of eight apartment blocks, was “largely extinguished” at about 10:18 local time on Friday, authorities confirmed to the BBC.
Some families have arrived at the smouldered housing estate to identify the remains of their loved ones, while many others are still waiting for news.
This is Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in at least 63 years – already having surpassed the toll of the August 1962 inferno in the Sham Shui Po neighbourhood, which killed 44 people and displaced hundreds.
