Shock is giving way to anger in Hong Kong after a massive fire ripped through a densely populated subsidised housing estate on Wednesday, killing at least 128 people and critically injuring dozens.
Authorities say substandard mesh and plastic sheets on the buildings' windows may have spread the blaze, which raged for more than a day.
Firefighting operations have now ended, with dozens of residents still unaccounted for.
Questions are mounting as to how the fire at Wang Fuk Court spread so rapidly and who is responsible, with many calling it a man-made disaster.
Three people in charge of renovating the blocks are under arrest for manslaughter, and authorities have launched a corruption inquiry.
A post that has gone viral on social media in the wake of the blaze reads: It's not an accident.
Several residents have revealed in interviews that the fire alarm did not sound when the fire broke out. Authorities said on Friday that they had checked the fire alarms in all eight blocks and found that they were not working properly.
Kiko Ma, who owns an apartment at Wang Fuk Court, claims that the alarms had been turned off amid renovation works, as construction workers regularly used fire escapes to get in and out of the building.
This was preventable... A lot of people did not do their duties, said Ma, accusing the renovation firm of using poor quality, flammable materials.
Residents often saw construction workers smoking and found cigarette butts along their window ledges.
People kept asking what would happen if there was a fire. Everyone was very worried about this.
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.
Built in the 1980s, Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong's north-eastern Tai Po district comprises eight 31-storey buildings, seven of which went up in flames. The apartments here are sold at subsidised prices, but day-to-day affairs in the estate are managed by privately appointed firms.
According to the 2021 census, the complex was home to about 4,600 people - nearly 40% of whom were 65 or older.
Hong Kong is well-known for its tiny, densely packed inner-city dwellings, where many public rental housing tenants have, on average, a living space of just 14.1 square metres.
It is unclear how many people were in Wang Fuk Court when the fire broke out, but census figures suggest it is home to around 4,600 residents. Hundreds of them have been evacuated to temporary shelters, and some are being allocated emergency housing units.
Police are investigating whether mesh netting, plastic and canvas sheets used during renovations met fire safety standards. The rapid spread of the fire has been attributed to styrofoam blocks placed outside the windows of the apartments, apparently used to protect them from the debris and dust.
Some experts believe the bamboo scaffolding connecting the apartment blocks helped fuel the inferno. Earlier this year, authorities announced plans to phase out bamboo in favour of sturdier, fire-resistant steel due to bamboo's combustibility and deteriorating conditions over time.
Residents at Wang Fuk Court had expressed unease about renovation plans when they were announced last year. Concerns about these plans have resurfaced, leading to accusations of a lack of transparency.
When similar incidents happen, they raise the question of whether [there are] systemic weaknesses, said a local resident. Hong Kong authorities have since ordered inspections of all housing estates undergoing major repairs to ensure the safety of scaffolding and building materials.
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