9 die, 34 injured in HK blaze
December 1, 2011, Thursday
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Hong Kong police are investigating a "suspected arson attack" after nine people died and 34 were injured in a fire at hawkers' stalls in Kowloon's crowded Mong Kok area yesterday.
Police received reports of the fire at about 4:40am. At least two men and one woman aged between 24 to 63 were among those who died, the government said. The injured included an 11-month-old boy and 16 men and 17 women aged from 20 to 75.
Last night, six people were said to be in a critical condition and four in a serious condition.
Hong Kong's Kowloon district, packed with apartment blocks lining its narrow streets, is famous for its markets and shops, where tourists bargain for traditional cheongsam dresses, toys, hand bags and electrical appliances.
Yesterday's fire follows an arson attack in the same area, Fa Yuen Street, last December which damaged shops and burnt 50 stalls.
"The cause of the blaze is suspicious because our team who arrived at the scene saw both sides of the stall were on fire at the same time," Szeto Yat San, the acting chief fire officer, told reporters.
The blaze damaged 12 hawkers' stalls, Radio Television Hong Kong reported, citing Wong Pui Ching, president of Fu Yuen Street Hawker Association. The fire spread to residential buildings where rescuers found most of the casualties, Szeto said. It was largely extinguished by 12:28pm.
"This is saddening and shocking, and isn't the first time we have seen this type of problem," Chief Executive Donald Tsang told reporters. "We've taken steps including separating hawker stalls from residential blocks and limiting expansion of the stall areas. But it isn't enough."
Mong Kok is also the site of a series of acid attacks between December 2008 and June 2009, in which about 100 people were injured, according to the Standard newspaper.
Smoke was still billowing at 12:35pm from a residential building above one of the stalls, near the Prince Edward subway station and the Mong Kok Police Station.
Four ambulances and more than 10 fire engines were stationed near the street, one road down from the Ladies Market, a popular shopping spot for tourists, and police cordoned off an entire block. About 400 people were evacuated from the area, an officer said.
Stalls selling everything from fruit to clothing on an adjacent block on Fa Yuen Street were open for business.
"Fires are quite regular here," a 37-year-old housewife surnamed Chung said. She said she and her family left their home near the fire at about 4am and had been prevented from returning to their apartment by police.
A hawker who lives in the area, Lee Sau Yin, 61, said he was woken by his daughter at 4am and didn't have time to collect any of his belongings.
"I'm worried my goods will suffer damage from the water used by the firefighters," said Lee, who owns a clothing stall and has been a Fa Yuen Street resident since 1985. Fires regularly occur on the street, he said.
The government issued 200 warning letters to stalls to remove materials that were obstructing the streets early last month, and it will escalate prosecution of owners who store an excessive amount of merchandise outside stalls, Clement Leung, director of food and environmental hygiene, said yesterday.
"All the warnings and regulations are actually in place, but we still have yet to find the real cause for the fire," said York Chow, secretary for food and health.
Police received reports of the fire at about 4:40am. At least two men and one woman aged between 24 to 63 were among those who died, the government said. The injured included an 11-month-old boy and 16 men and 17 women aged from 20 to 75.
Last night, six people were said to be in a critical condition and four in a serious condition.
Hong Kong's Kowloon district, packed with apartment blocks lining its narrow streets, is famous for its markets and shops, where tourists bargain for traditional cheongsam dresses, toys, hand bags and electrical appliances.
Yesterday's fire follows an arson attack in the same area, Fa Yuen Street, last December which damaged shops and burnt 50 stalls.
"The cause of the blaze is suspicious because our team who arrived at the scene saw both sides of the stall were on fire at the same time," Szeto Yat San, the acting chief fire officer, told reporters.
The blaze damaged 12 hawkers' stalls, Radio Television Hong Kong reported, citing Wong Pui Ching, president of Fu Yuen Street Hawker Association. The fire spread to residential buildings where rescuers found most of the casualties, Szeto said. It was largely extinguished by 12:28pm.
"This is saddening and shocking, and isn't the first time we have seen this type of problem," Chief Executive Donald Tsang told reporters. "We've taken steps including separating hawker stalls from residential blocks and limiting expansion of the stall areas. But it isn't enough."
Mong Kok is also the site of a series of acid attacks between December 2008 and June 2009, in which about 100 people were injured, according to the Standard newspaper.
Smoke was still billowing at 12:35pm from a residential building above one of the stalls, near the Prince Edward subway station and the Mong Kok Police Station.
Four ambulances and more than 10 fire engines were stationed near the street, one road down from the Ladies Market, a popular shopping spot for tourists, and police cordoned off an entire block. About 400 people were evacuated from the area, an officer said.
Stalls selling everything from fruit to clothing on an adjacent block on Fa Yuen Street were open for business.
"Fires are quite regular here," a 37-year-old housewife surnamed Chung said. She said she and her family left their home near the fire at about 4am and had been prevented from returning to their apartment by police.
A hawker who lives in the area, Lee Sau Yin, 61, said he was woken by his daughter at 4am and didn't have time to collect any of his belongings.
"I'm worried my goods will suffer damage from the water used by the firefighters," said Lee, who owns a clothing stall and has been a Fa Yuen Street resident since 1985. Fires regularly occur on the street, he said.
The government issued 200 warning letters to stalls to remove materials that were obstructing the streets early last month, and it will escalate prosecution of owners who store an excessive amount of merchandise outside stalls, Clement Leung, director of food and environmental hygiene, said yesterday.
"All the warnings and regulations are actually in place, but we still have yet to find the real cause for the fire," said York Chow, secretary for food and health.
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