Three days of mourning began on Saturday after Hong Kong’s worst fire in decades.
Authorities put the death toll at 128 on Friday afternoon, but warned that more charred remains could be found as investigators examine the towers.
At least 150 people are still missing in Wednesday’s tragedy, so the death toll is expected to rise.
Three minutes silence and flags at half mast
On Saturday morning, top officials, including Chief Executive John Lee, stood in silence for three minutes outside government headquarters.
Flags on all government buildings will remain at half mast till Monday.
China launches nationwide security inspection
Meanwhile, in response to the fire, China is launching a fire safety inspection campaign for high-rise buildings across the country.
The focus of the campaign will be on buildings undergoing renovation of external walls and internal modifications, the Emergency Management Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
There will be four major areas of inspection, namely checking of flammable materials used in external wall insulation systems, prohibited construction materials such as bamboo scaffolding, fire safety equipment and evacuation routes.
How long did it take to extinguish the fire?
Hong Kong’s fire department was alerted to the fire in a residential complex shortly before 3pm (0700 GMT) on Wednesday.
The fire department said it received a report of a fire in a residential complex at 2:51 pm (0651 GMT) on Wednesday. At 3:34 pm it was upgraded to the number 4 alarm and as night fell, it was declared a five-alarm fire, the highest level.
It burned for more than 40 hours and engulfed seven of the complex’s eight buildings before finally being extinguished on Friday morning.
It is Hong Kong’s deadliest fire since 1948, when a warehouse fire killed 176 people, and has drawn comparisons with London’s Grenfell Tower fire, which killed 72 people in 2017.
Edited by: Wesley Dockery