OFFICIALS in Hong Kong officials said today that the protective netting that covered scaffolding around buildings that caught fire last week in a massive blaze did not meet codes for fire resistance.

Hong Kong’s Secretary for Security Chris Tang said samples of the netting were taken from multiple locations from the seven buildings that burned. Seven samples were found to be not up to standards. 

Initial tests had suggested the netting was up to standard, but investigators had not been able to check all of it earlier due to the blaze.

“Because the fire is now out, we have been able to get to places that were not easily accessible before to take samples,” Mr Tang told reporters.

The fire broke out on Wednesday afternoon and took until Friday morning to extinguish. At least 146 people were killed, dozens injured and thousands left homeless.

Donations for survivors of the fire had reached 900 million Hong Kong dollars (around £88m) as of today, authorities said, as a steady stream of people placed flowers, cards and other tributes at a makeshift memorial near the burned-out block of buildings.

Hong Kong authorities said today that teams were assessing the safety of the other buildings, including the one that caught fire first and suffered the worst damage.