In a grim search for survivors, Hong Kong firefighters meticulously scoured a high-rise apartment complex on Friday, following a catastrophic fire that swept through seven of its eight towers, claiming at least 94 lives. This incident marks one of the most devastating fires in the city’s history.

Firefighters prioritized their efforts on apartments from which they had received over 24 emergency calls during the inferno but were unable to reach. Derek Armstrong Chan, a deputy director with Hong Kong Fire Services, briefed the media on Friday morning about these ongoing efforts.

“We are nearing the end of our firefighting operations,” Chan stated.

The blaze ignited on Wednesday afternoon in one of the towers within the Wang Fuk Court complex. The fire quickly spread from one building to another, fueled by bamboo scaffolding wrapped in netting that was in place for renovations, until it consumed seven towers.

Over 1,000 firefighters battled the intense flames for approximately 24 hours to subdue the five-alarm fire. Even two days later, occasional flare-ups continued to emit smoke from the blackened structures.

The final search of the buildings was expected to be completed later Friday at which point officials have said they will officially end the rescue phase of their operation at the complex in Tai Po district, a northern suburb near Hong Kong’s border with mainland China.

It was unclear how many people could possibly be inside the buildings, which had almost 2,000 apartments and some 4,800 residents.

Hong Kong leader John Lee said early Thursday morning that officials had not been able to make contact with 279 residents.

“We will endeavor to force entry into all the units of the seven blocks concerned so as to ensure that there is no other possible casualties,” Chan said.

He said an updated figure on the number of missing people cannot be calculated until the search and rescue operation is complete.

The apartments from which a total of 25 unanswered rescue calls were received, which are being prioritized, were primarily on higher floors, where the fire was last to be extinguished, he said.

More than 70 people were injured in the blaze, including 11 firefighters, and about 900 people were housed in temporary shelters.

Most of the casualties were in the first two buildings to catch fire, Chan said.

The apartment complex housed many older people. It was built in the 1980s and had been undergoing a major renovation.

Hong Kong’s anti-corruption agency said on Thursday it was investigating possible corruption relating to the renovation project.

Three men, the directors and an engineering consultant of a construction company, have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, and police said company leaders were suspected of gross negligence.

Police have not identified the company where the suspects worked, but The Associated Press confirmed Prestige Construction & Engineering Company was in charge of renovations in the tower complex. Police have seized boxes of documents from the company, where phones rang unanswered Thursday.

Authorities suspected some materials on the exterior walls of the high-rise buildings did not meet fire resistance standards, allowing the unusually fast spread of the fire.

Police also said they found plastic foam panels — which are highly flammable — attached to the windows on each floor near the elevator lobby of the one unaffected tower. The panels were believed to have been installed by the construction company but the purpose was not clear.

Authorities planned immediate inspections of housing estates undergoing major renovations to ensure scaffolding and construction materials meet safety standards.

The fire was the deadliest in Hong Kong in decades. A 1996 fire in a commercial building in Kowloon killed 41 people.