Hong Kong fire death toll climbs to 159, including a 1

Courtesy: CBS

The death toll in Hong Kong’s apartment complex fire climbed to 159 on Wednesday, as six people were arrested on suspicion of deactivating some fire alarms during maintenance work at the housing complex, authorities said.

The youngest person who died in the fire was a 1-year-old baby, police said. The oldest was 97. At least 91 women and 41 men were among the dead, according to Commissioner of Police Joe Chow.

Police said they have completed a search for bodies inside all seven of eight high-rise residential towers ravaged in the fire that first broke out last Wednesday and took until Friday to be extinguished. About 30 people were still reported missing.

“We have found 159 bodies, of whom 140 were identified on a preliminary basis,” Chow told reporters at a news conferen