Rescue efforts halted as death toll from Hong Kong tower block fire reaches 128

The death toll from the Hong Kong apartment complex fire has risen to 128 with as many as 200 missing, officials said, as rescue operations were stopped.

- Helen Davidson Shanshan Kao Hong Kong Amy Hawkins

Firefighters had been combing through the high-rise flats yesterday, attempting to find anyone alive after the huge fire on Wednesday that spread to seven of eight towers in one of the city's deadliest blazes.

Authorities said they had recovered 108 bodies from the buildings, but 16 were still inside. Four people died of their injuries in hospital, Chris Tang, the city's security secretary, said yesterday afternoon.

A further 79 people, including 11 firefighters, were injured. About 200 people were still unaccounted for, and 89 of the bodies had not yet been identified.

The head of the fire services, Andy Yeung, confirmed what many residents had been claiming for days: that no fire alarms had gone off in any of the eight towers. “We will take enforcement actions against the contractors responsible,” he said.