Fire probe police seek two men
Source: Bloomberg News |
December 2, 2011, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
HONG Kong police are seeking two men captured on closed-circuit television at the scene of Wednesday's fire in the Mong Kok district that killed nine people and injured 34 others.
"These two men may provide us with information about the case, or the cause of the fire," Brian Lowcock, the superintendent of the police's Kowloon West crime division, told reporters yesterday. "We are not treating them as suspects at the moment."
The "suspicious" blaze at hawkers' stalls in the crowded Fa Yuen Street, famous for its markets and shops in narrow streets, followed an arson attack in the same area last December that damaged shops and burnt 50 stalls.
An 11-month-old boy, 16 men and 17 women have been admitted to hospital, with five in a critical condition.
"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, said on Wednesday.
Police received reports on the fire at about 4:40am.
The blaze damaged 12 hawkers' stalls, Radio Television Hong Kong reported, citing Wong Pui Ching, president of Fa Yuen Street Hawker Association. It spread to residential buildings where rescuers found most of the casualties, Szeto said. It was largely extinguished by 12:28pm, according to the government.
The government is considering improvements to the way hawkers operate in Mong Kok, including changing permanent stalls in Fa Yuen Street to ones that can be disassembled at night, York Chow, secretary for food and health, told reporters yesterday.
It's an iconic area and the government can't be too hasty about making drastic changes, he said.
"We need to improve the safety of the area over the long term," Chief Executive Donald Tsang said. "The government will work closely with district councillors and stall owners to achieve this."
Mong Kok was 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.
"These two men may provide us with information about the case, or the cause of the fire," Brian Lowcock, the superintendent of the police's Kowloon West crime division, told reporters yesterday. "We are not treating them as suspects at the moment."
The "suspicious" blaze at hawkers' stalls in the crowded Fa Yuen Street, famous for its markets and shops in narrow streets, followed an arson attack in the same area last December that damaged shops and burnt 50 stalls.
An 11-month-old boy, 16 men and 17 women have been admitted to hospital, with five in a critical condition.
"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, said on Wednesday.
Police received reports on the fire at about 4:40am.
The blaze damaged 12 hawkers' stalls, Radio Television Hong Kong reported, citing Wong Pui Ching, president of Fa Yuen Street Hawker Association. It spread to residential buildings where rescuers found most of the casualties, Szeto said. It was largely extinguished by 12:28pm, according to the government.
The government is considering improvements to the way hawkers operate in Mong Kok, including changing permanent stalls in Fa Yuen Street to ones that can be disassembled at night, York Chow, secretary for food and health, told reporters yesterday.
It's an iconic area and the government can't be too hasty about making drastic changes, he said.
"We need to improve the safety of the area over the long term," Chief Executive Donald Tsang said. "The government will work closely with district councillors and stall owners to achieve this."
Mong Kok was 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.
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