Four family members, including 2-year-old girl, killed in Hong Kong housing estate blaze after massage chair catches fire
- Firefighters rushed to the scene at about 3am on Friday, helping evacuate at least 30 residents who had not yet fled the building in Kwun Tong district; about 150 people had left on their own
- The family’s 60-year-old patriarch, now in hospital, managed to escape, but his wife, two daughters and granddaughter were trapped inside the flat
An electric massage chair burst into flames in a deadly fire at a public housing estate in Hong Kong on Friday, killing four members of a single family, including a two-year-old girl, whose grandfather was left fighting for his life in hospital.
A preliminary investigation showed a short circuit in the chair, which was in the living room of the family’s three-bedroom flat, was the likely cause of the fire, which engulfed the unit on the fifth floor of Tat Hei House, Po Tat Estate in Kwun Tong, and led to the evacuation of about 180 residents before daybreak, according to police.
“We believe that due to a wiring problem, a lithium battery [in the chair] overheated and led the massage chair to burst into flames,” Chief Inspector Ma Ling-ho said. “The fire spread to a three-metre L-shaped sofa nearby so the blaze was quickly spread and generated dense smoke.”
Ma said the massage chair was in the corridor near the front door when it caught fire, and officers believed this had made it difficult for the family to escape.
Emergency personnel responded to the scene shortly after 3am.