Firefighters battle blaze in Hong Kong shopping district

Many floors of the construction site were on fire causing burning debris and sparks to rain down

Fire tears through Hong Kong skyscraper

Fire tears through Hong Kong skyscraper
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Firefighters in Hong Kong battled a blaze on Friday that broke out overnight at a construction site in a popular shopping district.

No casualties had been reported after the fire erupted at the Mariners’ Club redevelopment project in the densely populated Tsim Sha Tsui district at about 11pm on Thursday.

Many floors of the structure including scaffolding were on fire and burning debris fell from the block, forcing 170 people in nearby buildings to evacuate.

The Empire Group's redevelopment plan was to build a 42-story architectural landmark to house the historic Mariners’ Club and a new hotel, the firm's website said.

The fire had largely been put out by 8.30am and authorities were still investigating the cause, deputy chief fire officer Keung Sai-ming said.

Firefighters had battled the blaze for about nine hours.

When firefighters arrived at the scene on Thursday night, flames were seen on multiple floors of the building but only temporary firefighting equipment was available, Keung said.

“The building is still under construction, so firefighting equipment commonly found in other buildings is not ready for use yet,” he said.

“We needed a large number of people to supply water to the very high floors to fight the fire, so we faced many challenges.”

The construction materials there, including wooden boards and metal bars, also made it difficult for fire crews to move around, he said.

The site is surrounded by a shopping centre, several hotels and some residential and commercial buildings. Earlier in the night, crowds of onlookers gathered on the street to watch the operation that involved 250 firefighters and paramedics.

“Yesterday night was quite windy. The burning debris was blown towards five buildings by our count,” Mr Keung said.

“Two of the buildings, namely a hotel and a commercial building, saw part of their rooftops catch on fire. Fortunately, our officers on standby quickly extinguished them.”

As dawn broke, the fire was less serious than it had been hours earlier, although flames could still be seen on multiple floors. The structure’s exterior walls were blackened and parts of its scaffolding appeared shaky.

Two residents of a nearby building were startled and felt sick, and were later sent to a hospital, police said.

Tsim Sha Tsui is a tourist and shopping area in Kowloon and is famous for its iconic view of the city’s Victoria Harbor.

Updated: March 03, 2023, 10:19 AM