Towering inferno: A fire burning at a high-rise building under construction in the Tsim Sha Tsui district in Hong Kong. — AFP
HONG KONG: A skyscraper under construction in the heart of a historic Hong Kong shopping and tourist district was left scorched by a massive fire, with authorities saying the blaze had been largely extinguished.
An AFP journalist at the scene saw blackened concrete walls and the tattered remains of bamboo-and-tarpaulin scaffolding around the building yesterday morning, as municipal workers swept roads clean of debris.
Officials said the fire in Tsim Sha Tsui on the city’s harbourfront was “largely put out” by 8.30am local time yesterday, nine hours after it first erupted.
A major section of the neighbourhood’s Nathan Road thoroughfare – one of Hong Kong’s main transport lifelines – had been shut, authorities said, causing traffic disruptions.
No casualties were reported with two people treated for minor injuries, the fire department said.
Police told AFP that 170 people from nearby residential blocks were relocated to a safe distance as embers fell to the ground.
Flames were first spotted near scaffolding at the top of the building on Thursday night, with the blaze clearly visible across the harbour and sending sparks raining down on to neighbouring streets.
Around an hour later, the fire had spread down the length of the building and was approaching street level, where hundreds of onlookers had gathered.
Japanese tourist Tosho Sai, who was staying in a nearby building, said a security guard told everyone on his floor to leave after a window in the unit next door was hit by embers.
A French business traveller passing by the site said he saw “lots of debris falling” from the tower.
An acrid smell permeated the air, an AFP reporter on the scene said.
Flames were seen on the roof of an office tower across the street at around 3.30am local time, prompting fears of a wider inferno in the densely built area.
Yesterday, senior fire department official Keung Sai-ming said embers had sparked two fires on the roofs of nearby buildings, but they were quickly extinguished.
“Last night there were strong winds, which blew the flames toward five nearby buildings,” he said. — AFP
