Hong Kong has arrested 14 suspects in a probe into the city's deadliest fire in decades, finding "substandard" netting on building exteriors that failed to halt flames from spreading, authorities said Monday.

The staggering death toll, which police raised to 151 on Monday after more bodies had been found, has prompted outpourings of grief across the Chinese finance hub.

The world's deadliest residential building fire since 1980 broke out on Wednesday at the high-rises of Wang Fuk Court in the city's northern Tai Po district.

Flames quickly covered the surfaces of the apartment blocks, which were wrapped with bamboo scaffolding, protective netting and foam boards as part of an estate-wide renovation that affected its nearly 2,000 flats.

Officials announced on Monday that seven of the 20

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