Authorities say they have completed searches of four of the seven towers as part of a criminal investigation.

A Toronto man says hes heartbroken after a deadly fire tore through the Hong Kong apartment complex where he grew up, leaving more than 100 dead and many missing.

At least 128 people have died and hundreds remain unaccounted for following the fire which engulfed several tower blocks.

TEHRAN Irans Foreign Ministry on Friday expressed condolences to the families of victims of the catastrophic residential fire in Hong Kong, where at least 128 individuals have been confirmed dead and nearly 200 remain unaccounted for.

Authorities say 89 bodies are unidentified and 79 people remain injured after Wednesday's blaze.

During a press conference jointly held by the Hong Kong Security Bureau, Fire Services Department and the Hong Kong Police Force on Friday afternoon on the updates about the devastating five-alarm fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po housing estate, Secretary for Security Chris Tang revealed that preliminary investigations show that the external scaffolding nets and protective nets on the buildings engulfed in the fire met fire-resistance requirements, but the foam panels attached to the exterior windows were highly flammable, Global Times reported.

Even two days after the fire began, smoke continued to drift out of the charred buildings from the occasional flare-up.

Questions are mounting as to how the deadly fire spread so rapidly - and who should be held responsible.

Families are desperate for news of loved ones, after a huge fire engulfed seven tower blocks.

Chinese entrepreneurs have ramped up their charitable commitments in recent years to heed Beijing's call to put social responsibility before profits.

Dozens of people have died and hundreds remain unaccounted for after Wednesday's blaze.

Officials said the fire started on the external scaffolding of one of the buildings, a 32-storey tower, and later spread to inside the building and then to nearby buildings.

Footage geolocated by BBC Verify show the blaze taking hold in Wang Cheong House.

At least 44 people have been killed in the fire, which took local authorities 18 hours to bring under control.

More than 800 firefighters were still tackling the blaze at Wang Fuk Court this morning.

Global Affairs estimates there are about 300,000 Canadian citizens in Hong Kong, making them the biggest Canadian diaspora outside the United States.

Firefighters are struggling to put out the flames and say they are unsure when the blaze will be fully contained.

The death toll continues to rise and hundreds are missing, as firefighters struggle to put out the fire.

Efforts to control the blaze are continuing as locals wait for news of missing loved ones.

The blaze started mid-afternoon local time, and after nightfall authorities upgraded it to a level 5 alarm, the highest level of severity.

Video footage shows large plumes of smoke billowing up into the sky, as firefighters on cranes try and put out the blaze.

Chips sent to China as part of the alleged scheme included Nvidia's A100 and H200 graphics processing units, an indictment says.

CATLs Hong Kong shares slid over 8% as early investors were freed to sell roughly 77.5 million previously locked-up shares.

A nascent revival in Hong Kong initial public offering market offered a long-awaited release valve for private equity firms sitting on aging China portfolios

HONG KONG, Nov

Investors in the region are looking to Chinese autonomous vehicle firms WeRide and Pony.ai's listing debut in Hong Kong later in the day.

Pony.ai, which is already listed in the U.S., raised 6.71 billion Hong Kong dollars (about $860 million) in its initial public offering.