Police: Search for Hong Kong fire victims could take weeks

TOPSHOT - This handout photo released by the Hong Kong Police Force on Sunday, November 30, 2025, shows officers from the Disaster Victims Identification Unit (DVIU) working inside an apartment block in the aftermath of a fire at the Wang Fuk Court residential estate in Hong Kong's Tai Po district. The death toll in a fire that tore through a Hong Kong residential estate this week has risen to 146, police said on November 30. -- AFP

HONG KONG (dpa): The death toll from the fire in a Hong Kong high-rise residential complex rose to 146 on Sunday, with more than 40 still missing, police in the special Chinese administrative region said.

Speaking during a press conference broadcast by public broadcaster RTHK, they said the death toll could still rise.

A total of 79 people had been injured in the fire that erupted on Wednesday.

Police said that rescue workers had now searched four of the seven blocks, with poor visibility hampering operations, as the homes were extremely dark as a result of the devastation caused.

The search of the remaining towers could take weeks, they said. - dpa