The staggering death toll, which police raised to 151 on Monday after more bodies had been found, has prompted outpourings of grief across the Chinese finance hub.
The world's deadliest residential building fire since 1980 broke out on Wednesday at the high-rises of Wang Fuk Court in the city's northern Tai Po district.
Flames quickly covered the surfaces of the apartment blocks, which were wrapped with bamboo scaffolding, protective netting and foam boards as part of an estate-wide renovation that affected its nearly 2,000 flats.
Officials announced on Monday that seven of the 20 samples of netting taken from four of the wrecked towers failed to meet fire safety standards.
"We now believe that the cause was likely that the safety netting fell short of fire-resistance standards, combined with the foam boards, that led to the severity of this fire," security chief Chris Tang told a news conference.
Hong Kong's anti-corruption watchdog and police, running a joint investigation, arrested a total of 14 people, 13 of them on suspicion of manslaughter.
Eric Chan, the city's number two official, called them "shameful" and "cunning", saying they had "acted with deliberate intent and planning".
He said the suspects had mixed in patches of substandard netting to save costs, and placed it "in locations where ordinary people could not easily gather a sample".
- 'Reduced to ashes' -
Police said on Monday they had completed searches in five of the seven affected towers, raising the death toll to 151 from 146 the day before.
"We cannot rule out the possibility of this number increasing further," police representative Tsang Shuk-yin told a separate news conference.
Of the overall toll, 104 bodies have been identified.
A visibly emotional Tsang added that "some remains have already been reduced to ashes", meaning that the bodies of some of those reported missing might never be recovered.
Remains were found inside apartment units, in hallways and on staircases, police said, adding that officers will comb through the remaining towers.
Photos released by the police showed apartment walls scorched to white, while smashed belongings and furniture lay covered with soot.
One Filipino national and nine Indonesian nationals have been killed, according to their respective consulates, with 30 Indonesians still unaccounted for.
Some families of victims returned to Wang Fuk Court on Monday to begin traditional funeral rites, which are expected to continue Tuesday.
As of Monday night, more than 1,900 households have signed up for the emergency cash subsidy of HK$10,000 ($1,280), while some 2,400 people have made use of government emergency accommodation.
- 'Not in vain' -
Following a massive outpouring of grief on Sunday, when mourners formed a queue spanning the Tai Po neighbourhood, people continued to flock to a small park near the charred buildings to place flowers and notes of remembrance.
Some of the notes called for accountability, with one reading, "Hope your deaths were not in vain, the truth must come out for your sakes."
Miles Kwan, a 24-year-old student, was reportedly arrested by police for "seditious intent" after handing out flyers demanding government accountability over the fire.
An online petition containing Kwan's four demands, which included calls for an independent probe, gathered more than 10,000 signatures in less than a day before its contents were wiped.
Two other people, including former district councillor Kenneth Cheung, were also taken in by police, according to local media reports.
Kwan was seen leaving a police station on Monday afternoon in a taxi, and did not confirm if he had been formally arrested.
Cheung posted on Facebook on Monday that he had "returned home, on bail".
Asked about the reports of sedition arrests, security chief Tang said there had been "inaccurate comments online" with the sole purpose of "threatening national security".
"Therefore, we must take appropriate measures, including law enforcement measures. Operational details cannot be disclosed as they involve national security," Tang told reporters.
Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong in 2020 after the city saw huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests the year before.
The former British colony passed an additional, homegrown security law last year which strengthened penalties for the crime of sedition, with offenders facing a maximum penalty of seven years in jail.
As of the start of November, Hong Kong has arrested 348 people for various national security crimes and convicted 172 of them.
Migrant domestic workers seek support, solace after Hong Kong fire
Hong Kong (AFP) Dec 1, 2025 - Sobs could be heard across Hong Kong's Victoria Park at the weekend as hundreds of migrant workers mourned victims of Hong Kong's worst fire in decades and prayed for missing friends.
Many found themselves in limbo after the disaster.
At least 10 of the 146 people killed in the fire that devastated the high-rise towers of Wang Fuk Court were migrant workers, an often overlooked segment of the workforce.
Dozens more are unaccounted for, according to an AFP tally based on information from consulates.
Hong Kong is home to nearly 370,000 migrant domestic workers, predominantly women from the Philippines and Indonesia caring for infants and the elderly in a city with an ageing population.
Migrant workers typically have Sundays off and prayers were held in neighbourhoods across the city. Attendees told AFP about friends who had gone missing and how support efforts for survivors at times fell short.
Sudarsih, an Indonesian woman who has worked in Hong Kong for 15 years, said two of her friends were still missing.
"God bless, they will be found quickly and are safe," she said.
Those at the Victoria Park event sang hymns and prayed near a banner on the ground that read: "Dearly departed ones: highest respect and recognition to the loyalty and bravery of migrant domestic workers."
Dwi Sayekti, 38, said she hoped the disaster would be the "first and last".
"I hope in the future, it doesn't happen again. And all of those who lost their lives in Tai Po can be found," she said in a broken voice.
Across town, in Hong Kong's central business district, around 100 Filipino workers held a prayer meeting at their usual Sunday gathering spot with glittering office buildings looming overhead.
"We are praying that hopefully there will be no more casualties in this fire tragedy," said Dolores Balladares, chairwoman of United Filipinos in Hong Kong.
- 'Duty' -
Many of the well-wishes were directed towards Rhodora Alcaraz, a young woman from the Philippines who started working in Hong Kong just a few days before the tragedy.
In an unverified but widely circulated account of events, Alcaraz shielded her employer's three-month-old infant with her body when the fire broke out.
When firefighters found them in the smoke-filled apartment, she was still cradling the baby.
Alcaraz was reportedly admitted to an intensive care unit, though AFP was unable to confirm her latest condition.
Fellow migrant worker Michelle Magcale said she felt "so sad" and "speechless" upon hearing the news.
"I can't express how sad it is," the 49-year-old said.
"On behalf of her duty, on behalf of her responsibility, she saved one more life ... we are thankful for that," she added.
Balladares, the Filipino group leader, said, "We also salute her because she gave her best... to protect the family."
Manila's consulate in Hong Kong said a woman named Maryan Pascual Esteban was killed in the fire, leaving behind a 10-year-old son and her family in Cainta, Rizal.
One Filipino national was injured and the status of seven others had yet to be verified, the consulate added.
Jakarta's consulate said nine Indonesians were killed in the fire with one injured and 42 others currently unaccounted for.
- Support needed -
More than 50 survivors have sought help from the Asian Migrants' Coordinating Body, according to spokeswoman Shiela Tebia.
Tebia said the women urgently needed clothing, especially underwear, adding that their ID cards and passports had been burned .
They are "still processing, and some actually cannot sleep well... they are also traumatised," Tebia told AFP.
"But despite that condition, they still need to support their employer because their employer is also grieving."
Tebia said the consulates have promised help for victims but specifics were lacking.
Sringatin, chair of Indonesian Migrant Workers Union, told AFP the consulate could not provide information in a timely manner, while her group tried to "make people less panicked".
Family members of each deceased victim will receive HK$200,000 ($25,700) in government assistance.
But that was only an "initial step", said Edwina Antonio, the executive director at Bethune House migrant women's refuge.
"What about those who survived?" she said. "(Those) who are still in Hong Kong, they lost everything that they have."
Antonio urged the government to include migrant workers when offering financial assistance, because they are "often the only breadwinners of their families".
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