2 injured in fire at Hong Kong construction site

Almost 300 firefighters battled a blaze at a construction site in Tsuen Wan that injured two workers and sent clouds of thick smoke billowing over the area.

The cause of Thursday’s fire, which broke out around dawn at 3, Hoi Kok Street, is still being investigated. It started in a staff room of a two-storey zinc building at the centre of the blaze, representatives from the Fire Services Department and police told reporters.

Tsuen Wan Fire — Heavy smoke can be seen on a road in Tsuen Wan, as a fire broke out on Thursday morning. Photo: Video screenshot, via Facebook.

The Drainage Services Department, which manages the site, told firefighters there were no hazardous articles stored in the building and no staff had stayed there overnight.

Two site superintendents were found lying on the ground near the zinc structure with suspected bone fractures. Both were conscious when taken to hospital, with one of them telling the ambulance crew he had suffered a fall.

Sixty fire trucks, nine ambulances and 290 personnel were sent to fight the fire, which broke out at 6:38 a.m. on Thursday and was largely extinguished some four hours later.

The fire was upgraded to a No.3 alarm 12 minutes after it broke out.

Both the injured were taken to Yan Chai Hospital. Ming Pao and HK01 reported that they worked for the Drainage Services Department and one had jumped from the second floor to the ground.

The slip lane from Tai Chun Road to Tsuen Wan Road – in the Tuen Mun direction – was closed due to the fire, the Transport Department said in a notice.

The Environmental Protection Department warned of “heavy smoke” at the scene but its air quality monitoring station did not show an abnormal reading.

In a statement issued around 9 am, residents in Tsuen Wan, Tsing Yi and Kwai Chung were advised to stay calm and shut the doors and windows if necessary.

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