THE death toll in the fire at seven high-rise residential buildings in Hong Kong has risen to 146 on Sunday, while the fate of 150 people is still unclear as the search operations continued on the fifth day. Eight people, including a woman connected with the renovation work of the buildings that caught fire on Wednesday, were arrested by Hong Kong’s anti-corruption body for allegedly using inflammable and substandard materials. State-run Xinhua quoted local officials as saying that the death toll in the fire rose to 146, with a firefighter among the dead. Investigations into the fire accident are underway with many unanswered questions, especially how seven high-rise buildings with 1,984 apartments, housing around 4,600 residents, caught fire. The status of 150 people is unclear, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.