Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/HONG KONG: The Hong Kong government said about 170 citizens were evacuated from a shopping centre after a fire broke out in a skyscraper late Thursday night.
Firefighters battled the blaze that erupted at a Tsim Sha Tsui district building, with flames visible from the other side of Victoria Harbour. According to Reuters, several upper floors of the building were engulfed in the fire, and blazing falling debris, including bamboo scaffolding, caused smaller fires in adjacent buildings.
Firefighter and rescue employees
Hong Kong’s deputy chief fire officer, Keung Sai-ming said that 250 firefighters and rescue workers put out the blaze throughout the night before it was extinguished around eight 8 am on Friday. He said that the cause of the fire was being investigated.
According to the company’s website, the building is a 42-story project by the Empire Group that houses the city’s Mariner’s Club and a hotel. The Mariners Club, opened in 1967 to provide affordable accommodation to seafarers, is popular among maritime employees passing through Hong Kong. The Empire Group didn’t immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
