Hong Kong authorities said on Friday the death toll from the city's worst fire in decades had risen to at least 83, as firefighters scoured torched high-rise buildings for scores of people still listed as missing.

Flames were still visible in some of the eight-building apartment complex's almost 2,000 units well over 24 hours after the fire broke out, with crews still spraying water over the blackened exteriors.

Authorities have begun investigating what sparked the disastrous blaze -- the financial hub's worst in almost 80 years -- including the presence of bamboo scaffolding and plastic mesh wrapped around the structures as part of a housing estate-wide renovation.

Hong Kong's anti-corruption body said it has launched a probe into renovation work at the housing complex, hours after pol

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