Families of the scores still missing after Hong Kong's worst blaze in decades scoured hospitals Friday as firefighting operations ended, with the death toll rising to 128.

Hundreds were still missing, Secretary for Security Chris Tang told a press conference, adding that he sent his condolences to those affected.

Flames had moved quickly through the Wang Fuk Court housing estate in Tai Po district on Wednesday afternoon, spreading through the eight high-rises and transforming the densely packed complex into an inferno.

After burning for over 40 hours, the blaze was"largely extinguished" by 10:18am (02:18 GMT) Friday, the fire services said, announcing the end of its operations.

Authorities are investigating what sparked the fire, including examining the bamboo scaffolding and plastic mesh wrapped around the complex as part of a major renovation.

At the charred apartment blocks, workers searched for survivors and pulled out bodies in black bags, according to witnesses.

Vehicles unloaded corpses at a mortuary in nearby Sha Tin, another reporter saw, with families expected to arrive in the afternoon for identification.

Around 200 people were still missing and 79 people were injured, including 12 firefighters, according to city authorities.

At one hospital in Sha Tin, a woman surnamed Wong was looking for her sister-in-law and her sister-in-law's twin, with no luck.

"We still cannot find them. So we are going to different hospitals to ask if they have good news," the 38-year-old told AFP 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."

The last contact anyone had with the twins was on Wednesday afternoon, said Wong, around the time the fire was reported.

"One building went up in flames and it spread to two more blocks in less than 15 minutes," a 77-year-old eyewitness surnamed Mui told AFP.

"It was very quick. It was burning red, I shudder to think about it."

Investigations begun

The fire was Hong Kong's deadliest since 1948, when an explosion followed by a fire killed at least 135 people.

The toll from the Hong Kong blaze surpassed the toll of similar incidents across the world, including London's Grenfell Tower in 2017, which killed 72 people and a 2023 Hanoi apartment block fire, which killed 56 people.

Lethal blazes were once a regular scourge in densely populated Hong Kong, especially in poorer neighbourhoods, but improved safety measures have made them far less common.

Hong Kong's anti-corruption body said Thursday it had launched a probe into renovation work at the complex, hours after police said they had arrested three men on suspicion of negligently leaving foam packaging at the fire site.

Residents of the estate told AFP that they did not hear any fire alarms and had to go door-to-door to alert neighbours to the danger.

Hong Kong authorities will immediately inspect all housing estates undergoing major work following the disaster, with an emphasis on shifting the sites to metal scaffolding.

Of the 94 people confirmed dead, one was a 37-year-old firefighter and two were Indonesian domestic workers.

Hong Kong's government announced a HK$300 million ($38.5 million) fund to help victims of the fire.

City authorities said they had opened nine shelters and were organising temporary accommodation and emergency funds for those who had lost their homes.

Activities around Hong Kong's legislative elections, on December 7, have been suspended.

'Everyone lends support'

Some of the residents in adjacent blocks who had been evacuated as a precaution were allowed back into their homes on Thursday afternoon.

A spontaneous community effort to help firefighters and those displaced had by Friday become a well-oiled machine.

At a public square, separate supply stations for clothes, food and household goods had been set up, as well as booths providing medical and psychological care.

So much was donated that organisers put out a call on social media saying there was no need for more.

"It's truly touching," said 38-year-old Stone Ngai, one of the organisers of an impromptu aid station, on Thursday.

"The spirit of Hong Kong people is that when one is in trouble, everyone lends support... It shows that Hong Kong people are full of love."