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The flat was engulfed in flames. Photo: Handout
At least seven people were killed and several others critically injured after a fire broke out in a residential building in Hong Kong on Sunday night.
Authorities said four males and three females died after the blaze ripped through the flat in a tenement building at the junction of Canton Road and Saigon Street in Yau Ma Tei.
As of 11pm, three males and four females were listed as being in a critical condition in hospital. Another male was in a serious condition.
The fire was the deadliest in Hong Kong in almost a decade.
At least 17 people were rushed to hospital. Photo: SCMP
According to a police source, the flat was being used as a Nepalese restaurant at which a birthday party was being held. Lit candles were thought to have set soundproofing material on fire, the source said.
Most of the casualties were Nepalese, the insider said.
A man was seen climbing from a window of the flat – located on one of the building’s lower floors – at about 8.35pm.
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The flat was engulfed in flames. Firefighters brought the blaze under control in about half an hour.
Paramedics had rushed at least 17 people to four hospitals.
The injured were taken to Kwong Wah and Queen Elizabeth hospitals in Yau Ma Tei, Caritas Medical Centre in Sham Shui Po, and Princess Margaret Hospital in Kwai Chung.
Firefighters brought the blaze under control in about 30 minutes. Photo: May Tse
Several including a woman and a girl had to be resuscitated on the way to hospital.
Others in less serious condition were also helped out of the building. Their faces and clothes were smeared with soot.
Hong Kong’s leader, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, said she was deeply grieved by the tragedy. Lam said she had told relevant departments to do their best to help the survivors and find out the cause of the fire.
Police and the Fire Services Department were investigating the cause of the blaze.
In 2011, nine people were killed and 34 injured in a fire that ripped through Fa Yuen Street in Mong Kok. It was the deadliest blaze in the city in 15 years.
