Authorities in Hong Kong on Wednesday charged seven people and two firms with offences including manslaughter and conspiracy over last year’s fire at a residential estate that killed 168 people.The city’s deadliest fire in decades engulfed seven apartment buildings on 26 November, shattering the close-knit community of Wang Fuk Court, which housed thousands of people in the suburban district of Tai Po. In a statement on Wednesday, authorities said police and the Independent Commission Against Corruption charged the suspects with 25 counts. They were also accused of money laundering, attempting to pervert the course of public justice, and tax evasion. The seven people played different roles in the major renovation project of Wang Fuk Court. The two companies charged are the project consultancy firm and the main contractor involved in the project.The cases were scheduled to be heard in court on Wednesday afternoon. In March, police said they had arrested 38 people over accusations of manslaughter and fraud and later charged nine of them. The anti-corruption agency said that same month they had arrested 23 people on suspicion of offences such as bribery and conspiracy to defraud.Victor Dawes, a lawyer representing an independent committee conducting an ongoing inquiry into the cause of the blaze, previously said that almost all fire safety systems at the residential complex failed on the day of the fire because of human error.