Seven injured as solvent falls from height in busy Hong Kong shopping district
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 30 September, 2015, 5:20pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 30 September, 2015, 11:34pm
Clifford Lo
[email protected]
Police officers at the scene of the incident outside Chungking Mansions in Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: SCMP Pictures
Seven pedestrians were slightly injured after being splashed with an unknown solution which fell from a height in a busy shopping district in Hong Kong today, according to police.
Police, fire officers and paramedics were deployed to the scene after the incident happened outside Chungking Mansions on Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui at about 3.30pm.
“One of the injured suspected the solvent was corrosive acid,” a police spokeswoman said. “Initial investigations showed seven people required medical treatment.”
The injured included one male and six females, according to police.
Three ambulances were sent to the scene.
The spokeswoman said that among the injured, two women suffered minor injuries and went to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Yau Ma Tei to seek treatment before paramedics arrived.
The five others were bandaged at the scene and did not require hospital treatment, she said.
A section of the pavement outside the building was cordoned off. “Officers are still investigating what solution was involved and the source of the solvent,” the police spokeswoman said.
Police are treating the case as “object fell from height”.
Chungking Mansions is world famous for its maze of cheap guesthouses, stores, massage parlours and restaurants and is a popular destination for budget travellers. It is also associated with drug dealing and immigration offences.
Police later questioned an expat woman who was staying in a guesthouse, which was under renovation.
They believed the corrosive liquid had spilled onto the street from leaky drainpipes on the wall of the flat. They have yet to confirm what the liquid was.
