At least five people have died and over 30 have been injured after a fire broke out in a building in Jordan on Wednesday morning.
Police said they received multiple reports of a fire at New Lucky House at the intersection of Jordan Road and Nathan Road just before 8 am. The blaze was raised to a number three fire at 8.04 am, according to the Fire Services Department.
Videos from the scene showed thick smoke coming out of the building and people could be seen waving towels to call for help, while firefighters evacuated those trapped inside using elevated platforms.
The fire caused traffic disruptions in the area, with parts of Jordan Road and Nathan Road cordoned off.
Three men and two women died, police said.
Police said they were yet to confirm where the fire broke out. Some local media reports said the fire originated from a hostel on the first floor of the building, while other outlets reported that it began in a gym.
The injured were sent to hospitals including Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Kwong Wah Hospital, police told HKFP.
The government said it had opened a temporary shelter at the Henry G. Leong Yau Ma Tei Community Centre in the area for those in need.
In a statement just before noon on Wednesday, Chief Executive John Lee expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased.
The statement added that he was highly concerned about the incident and had instructed authorities, including the police force and the Fire Services Department, to investigate the cause of the fire.
250 people rescued
Addressing reporters during a briefing near the scene on Wednesday afternoon, the Fire Services Department said it had mobilised almost 220 firefighters in its operation. Around 250 people were rescued, while about 50 people left the building by themselves.
A total of 38 people were sent to hospital with injuries including burns and smoke inhalation, while three people who were injured received treatment at the scene and declined to go to the hospital.
The fire was most serious on the first and second floor where there were many guesthouses, Lam Kin-kwan, a division commander in the Fire Services Department’s Kowloon Command, said. There were more guesthouses as well as subdivided flats on the upper floors where smoke had spread, he added.
Visitors to Hong Kong were among those injured, Neil Burnett, the divisional commander of the police’s Yau Ma Tei Division, said. He added that some of them had flights out of the city that day and that authorities were helping them locate their belongings.
Among the five people who were certified dead in the hospital, three of them were found in the building’s second floor corridor, one was found in the stairwell between the seventh and eighth floor, and one was believed to have fallen from height.
The police told reporters that an investigation team had been set up to probe the cause of the blaze. Police were also investigating if anyone was criminally responsible for the fire.
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