At least 128 people are now known to have died, with dozens still missing after a fire ripped through a high-rise Hong Kong residential estate on Wednesday, authorities say
At a news briefing, they add that 79 people were injured and 16 bodies remain inside the buildings after the city's worst blaze in decades
Fire alarms in all eight blocks in the northerly suburb of Tai Po were also found to be not working effectively, the fire service says
Experts tell the BBC bamboo scaffolding, along with other construction materials found at the buildings - which were undergoing renovation - might have contributed to the rapid spread of the fire
Several residents have previously reported that their fire alarms did not sound when the blaze broke out
Authorities say that the fire service has checked the fire alarms in all eight blocks, finding that they were not working effectively.
They add that they will now take further action.
We're now hearing more details on the emergency response.
Authorities say 391 fire engines were mobilised and 188 ambulances were dispatched.
More than 2,311 firefighters took part in the operation, with 12 sustaining injuries during the response, they add.
Helicopters were not used, authorities say, adding that they believe aerial water drops are ineffective in extinguishing fires inside buildings.
Drones were also not used, they add, saying they are still exploring how to use them in these kind of operations.
Image source, ReutersAuthorities say police will start entering the Wang Fuk Court buildings today to begin gathering evidence, and that an investigation will be carried out over the next three to four weeks.
There are dozens of people still missing, they say.
We're now hearing more details about how the fire broke out.
Officials say the fire started from the lower level and then moved up to the higher levels. They add that the cause has yet to be determined, but investigations are ongoing.
At it's peak the temperature of the fire reached 500C (932F), they add, saying that because of this the blaze reignited in some places after being doused.
They confirm that all fires have been put out - at around 10:18 local time (02:18 GMT).
Authorities add that 79 people are known to have been injured.
They add that 89 bodies have still not been identified.
At least 128 people are now known to have died in the tower block fire, authorities say.
At a press conference, they add that 16 bodies remain inside the buildings.
Martin Yip
BBC Chinese, reporting from Tai Po
Image source, ReutersHong Kong Police have confirmed fire services are expected to give a news conference shortly - at 07:00 GMT (15:00 local time).
Senior Fire Department officials are expected to address the media.
As we've been reporting, firefighting operations appear to have been fully completed, while the bamboo scaffolding remains visibly entangled and damaged following the extinguishing of fire.
Families of missing persons remain at the scene, anxiously awaiting updates.
We'll update you with what they say here in this page.
As we've been reporting, firefighting operations at Wang Fuk Court have ended, nearly two whole days after the blaze first broke out on Wednesday afternoon.
The fire, which quickly engulfed seven out of eight apartment blocks, was "largely extinguished" at about 10:18 local time on Friday, authorities confirmed to the BBC.
Some families have arrived at the smouldered housing estate to identify the remains of their loved ones, while many others are still waiting for news.
This is Hong Kong's deadliest fire in at least 63 years - already having surpassed the toll of the August 1962 inferno in the Sham Shui Po neighbourhood, which killed 44 people and displaced hundreds.
Image source, Getty ImagesSince the massive fire broke out on Wednesday, there had been uncertainty over the Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA), a major K-pop awards show scheduled to take place at Hong Kong's Kai Tak Stadium - a 30-minute drive from the site of the fire.
Entertainment company CJ ENM, the show organiser, has confirmed that the show will be held as planned on Friday and Saturday.
The red carpet will be cancelled but the main ceremony will proceed, the company said. It also said that it "deeply empathises with the heartbreaking situation in Hong Kong".
A tribute will be held and a donation will be made to the victims of the fire, it said. "Instead of glamour, we will focusing on delivering comfort and hope through the stage," it said.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe MAMA awards are some of the most prestigious in the K-pop world
While we await more details from the authorities, many families are desperate for more information on their missing loved ones.
On Friday, authorities said more than 50 people were still in hospital, with 12 in critical and 28 in serious condition.
At one hospital in nearby Sha Tin, a woman surnamed Wong was looking for her sister-in-law and her sister-in-law's twin.
"We still cannot find them. So we are going to different hospitals to ask if they have good news," the 38-year-old told Agence France-Presse in tears.
"We were already waiting at the Prince of Wales Hospital on the first day but there was no news. We also came here yesterday."
Police at a nearby community centre hoping to identify victims showed photos of bodies pulled from the fire to people seeking missing loved ones.
We've just gotten confirmation from authorities that they have wrapped up firefighting operations at Wang Fuk Court.
As of now, the death toll is at 94 and scores of people are still unaccounted for.
It's 06:00 in London and 14:00 in Hong Kong, where we are covering the aftermath of a massive apartment fire. Here is your catch-up.
We're expecting authorities to give more updates at a press conference later today. Stay with us as we continue to bring you the latest.
Hong Kong is reeling from one of the deadliest fires the city has seen, which has killed at least 94 people, left nearly 300 missing and displaced many more.
Here are the latest photos we're getting from the scene this morning, as the search for the missing continues.
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Getty ImagesThe Hong Kong government says firefighting at Wang Fuk Court has ended, according to news agency AFP.
We will bring you more details as they come. We are also expecting a press conference later. Stay with us as we bring you the latest.
Investigations into the cause of the disaster are still ongoing.
But experts have weighed in on what they think could explain the devastation caused by the fire at Wang Fuk Court. Scaffolding and mesh netting had been set up around the apartment blocks for renovation works.
Guan Yeoh, professor of engineering at the University of New South Wales, and fire safety engineering expert, told the BBC that placing flammable materials around the building was like "waiting for a disaster to happen".
The bamboo scaffolding poses "some amount of hazard", so do other construction materials that had been brought up to the buildings, said Charles Jennings, associate professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and an expert on fire safety in skyscrapers.
The severity of the fire could have also been made worse by the fact that the apartment blocks were very tall and clustered close together, he said.
He told the BBC that "any fire service is not adequately equipped to cope with a full height fire on the exterior of a high-rise building".
Image source, Getty ImagesHong Kong's insurance sector is expected to face a heap of claims over the deadly fire in Tai Po that has caused thousands of people to lose their homes.
The disaster is likely to test the policies offered in the city. The burned estate's insurer, China Taiping Insurance, is said to provide up to HK$2bn (£190m; $260m) for property and fire-related damages, South China Morning Post reported, external on Thursday.
The policy includes public liability of HK$20m for each death or incident of property loss and other related coverage, SCMP wrote.
The insurer's shares have fallen since the fire.
A special task force has been assembled by the Hong Kong Insurance Authority to handle enquiries and claims.
Victims with insurance policies are being urged to promptly notify their claims to insurers to avoid losing out on compensation.
The girlfriend of firefighter Ho Wai-ho, who died at Wang Fuk Court, has shared a tribute to him on social media.
"My superhero has completed his mission and returned to Krypton," she wrote on Instagram.
She said that she would be taking a break as she "really can't accept it".
"I really, really want to hold your hand again," she wrote.
Ho, 37, was found collapsed at the scene on Wednesday. Other firefighters were injured, according to the fire department. More than 1,000 firefighters were deployed to tackle the blaze.
The city's leaders have paid tribute to Ho, whom they have described as "dedicated and gallant".
Video shows speed fire spreads in Hong Kong tower block
By Yi Ma and Emma Pengelly
We have been looking at social media footage, witness accounts and official statements to build a timeline of the deadly Hong Kong tower block fires. Here’s what we know so far:
Verified footage posted on the social platform Threads, captured the first visible signs of fire at the easternmost block of Wang Fuk Court yesterday. The user who uploaded the video said they noticed the flames at 14:51 local time (06:51 GMT). This aligns with the Hong Kong Fire Services Department (HKFSD) statement, which reported receiving its first alert at the same time.
Within 10 minutes, a witness says they spot the first firefighters arriving as flames spread rapidly from the lower floors to several levels above.
Another video, which was filmed from a different angle, shows the fire then spread to the top of the block of flats.
By 16:10 a verified clip emerged on social media showing that the fire had spread to at least two other towers, producing thick smoke plumes.
At 16:41 authorities confirmed the first fatality, a firefighter working to battle the flames.
HKFSD raised the incident to a Level 5 alarm, the highest danger classification in the city, at 18:22.
More than 24 hours after the fire began, new videos from the city shows that smoke and some fires remain active in parts of the complex.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee says the fire at all seven buildings is now “basically under control” but rescue efforts are still ongoing.
Meanwhile the death toll has risen to 75 people, local media cite the Hong Kong fire department as saying.
Image source, Getty ImagesHong Kong authorities have already launched a corruption inquiry into the devastating Tai Po fire, but will the tragedy force the government to make drastic changes to fire and construction safety laws?
While the cause of the fire is still unclear, police say substandard mesh and plastic sheets in the building may have helped spread the blaze.
Construction expert Tan Kang Hai spoke to the BBC earlier, saying he believes materials used at construction sites in the future must have fire-resistant coating and be approved as fire safe to prevent similar disasters.
He added that better evacuation procedures, such as residents closing their windows and doors when they left building, could also have helped slow the spread of the fire.
The bamboo scaffolding, a traditional building material in Hong Kong, has also been cited as fuelling the blaze.
The city's government had previously discussed gradually replacing bamboo with metal scaffolding, but some workers unions were opposed to banning the material.
Image source, ReutersAs the agonising wait for news of the missing drags on, police have been showing photos of bodies pulled from the fire to survivors at a nearby community centre, hoping to identify them.
One woman named Ms Cheung who is looking for her relatives described her shock as the scale of the tragedy continues to unfold.
"I cannot describe my feelings. There were children," she told AFP news agency.
"If the faces are unrecognisable, there are personal items for people to identify."
At least 12 survivors from the deadly blaze remain in critical condition, with 28 others in "serious" condition, according to hospital staff.