Fire at Hong Kong public housing block hurts police officer and elderly man
- Blaze in 17th-storey flat causes about 100 residents to evacuate building during Monday’s early hours
A police officer and an elderly man ended up in hospital after a blaze that caused about 100 residents to evacuate a Hong Kong public housing block in the early hours of Monday.
Emergency services were called in at 3.43am when the fire broke out in a 17th-floor flat on Lok Fu Estate, Junction Road, Wong Tai Sin.
Seven fire engines and two ambulances were sent to the scene, according to the Fire Services Department.
“Fifty residents fled the building before rescuers arrived and another 50 people were led to safety by firefighters,” a spokeswoman for the department said.
She said firefighters used a water jet to battle the blaze, which was extinguished shortly before 4am.
A policeman hurt his hand on glass fragments and an 81-year-old man living on the 14th floor complained of feeling unwell after inhaling smoke. The elderly man was wearing an oxygen mask as he was carried to an ambulance.
The injured were taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Yau Ma Tei, where they were treated and discharged.
The woman who lived in the flat was unhurt, according to police, but firefighters said her living room was severely damaged.
“The fire is believed to have been caused by a short circuit in an air conditioner and an initial investigation found nothing suspicious,” police said in a statement.
Shortly after the blaze was put out, affected residents were allowed to return home.