HONG KONG, April 10 — A fire broke out in a densely populated residential building in Hong Kong’s bustling Kowloon district today, killing five people and injuring 35 others, said the city’s hospital authority and fire services.
Broadcaster RTHK reported that the fire had started at a gym inside the 16-storey building, where inhabitants waved towels at windows to signal for rescue. Some surrounding roads had to be sealed off, disrupting the morning rush-hour traffic.
The city’s government said around 150 people were evacuated to safety, while 40 people were sent to public hospitals.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said he had instructed authorities to make an ‘all-out’ effort to treat the injured while different government departments are investigating the cause of the fire.
The blaze, rated three in the city’s five-grade system, was brought under control by 8.54 am (0054 GMT), an hour after fire services were alerted to the fire in Jordan, an area teeming with homes and offices across the harbour from the financial centre.
At least six of the injured were in serious condition, the hospital authority said, with one critical.
A fire services spokesperson said fire fighters are still battling to put out a separate massive blaze 15 hours after it erupted at a building site in the northern New Territories, with no casualties reported.
— Reuters
