Hong Kong officials point to renovation project as cause of historic fire with death toll now at 128

Hong Kong officials said Friday the death toll at the high-rise apartment complex that caught fire earlier this week is now at 128, amid more arrests related to a renovation project that appears to have started or at least help spread the fire.

At least eight people including scaffolding subcontractors, directors of an engineering consultant company and project managers supervising the renovation have been arrested.

In addition, officials say first responders found some fire alarms in the complex, which housed many older people, did not sound when tested, according to the Associated Press.

The fire, which started Wednesday, spread rapidly among buildings as a result of bamboo scaffolding covered in netting and foam panels apparently installed by a construction company caught fire, the wire service also reports.

The fire was the deadliest in decades in Hong Kong and was not fully extinguished until Friday morning. Roughly 200 people are still unaccounted for.