ISTANBUL

Hong Kong authorities said on Sunday that 159 residents, previously reported missing, were “safe” as the death toll from Wednesday’s fire at an apartment complex rose to 146, according to local media.

The police said on Sunday that the casualty enquiry unit has confirmed the safety of 159 residents who had been reported missing, as the city continued to mourn the victims of the city’s deadliest fire in decades.

Tsang Shuk-yin, officer in charge of the casualty enquiry unit of the Hong Kong Police Force, said that as of 4 pm local time (0800GMT) on Sunday, the death toll from the fire rose to 146, with 79 people injured.

Currently, 100 cases have been labeled as untraceable due to incomplete information, individuals not residing in Wang Fuk Court, or informants not having the missing persons' addresses, she explained.

Around 40 people were reported as missing, and authorities are working to find them, she added, according to the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.

Hong Kong on Saturday began a three-day mourning period to honor the victims of the deadly apartment complex blaze, which also injured 79, including 12 firefighters.

Rescue operations continued for the fifth day, although the fires in the blocks of the Wang Fuk Court apartment complex have been brought under control.

Authorities said the death toll from the blaze is likely to increase as more bodies are pulled from the buildings.

The fire broke out at around noon on Wednesday in the complex, which includes more than 1,900 apartments, and spread rapidly due to the bamboo scaffolding installed on the exterior for renovation work.

The complex consists of eight towers with an estimated population of over 4,000 residents.

Police have detained two directors and an engineering consultant from Prestige Construction & Engineering Company on suspicion of manslaughter.

Authorities say the bamboo scaffolding and the foam plastic materials covering the windows contributed significantly to the rapid spread of the fire.

On Friday, around 800 affected residents moved to hostels, hotels, and transitional flats.

The incident marked the first time in 17 years that Hong Kong issued a Level 5 fire alarm, the highest on the city’s five-tier scale.