Firefighters have been tackling a massive blaze at a Hong Kong high-rise in a busy shopping area.
Several levels of the structure were engulfed in flames when a fire broke out on a construction site in the Tsim Sha Tsui area during the reconstruction of The Mariners' Club. In the highly populated region, debris was spotted falling from the building.
Hong Kong Skyscraper Blaze
No injuries have been recorded since the fire broke out at 11 p.m. on Thursday, local time (3 p.m. GMT). The Empire Group's rehabilitation proposal called for the construction of a 42-story landmark structure with a club and a new hotel.
The Hong Kong location is bordered by more hotels, a commercial mall, and residential units. According to the police, four additional neighboring structures also caught fire but were subsequently extinguished.
The number of persons evacuated from a building near the incident site has not been disclosed by officials. Tsim Sha Tsui is a popular tourist attraction and commercial district in Hong Kong, renowned for its skyscrapers and views of Victoria Harbour, as per Sky News.
The fire finally reached the fourth level of severity on a scale of five, and roughly 130 residents of three nearby buildings were evacuated early on Friday morning out of worry that it may spread.
According to Al Jazeera, several stories of the building, including the scaffolding, were engulfed in flames, and flaming debris filled the air. Many dropped to the ground. The authorities said at 8:00 am (00:00 GMT) that while the fire was under control, firefighters were still battling the blaze.
Six nearby buildings, including the three that were evacuated and the Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers, caught fire, but the fires were contained, according to the police.
The fire, which was plainly visible in the night sky across the harbor, drew throngs of observers. The 42-story building that caught fire was nearing completion and was part of a $6 billion ($764 million) rehabilitation project by the developer Empire Group.
Authorities Conduct Investigation of the Incident's Cause
Hong Kong police were probing the origin of a massive fire that broke out overnight at a construction. According to the company's website, the Empire Group planned to construct a 42-story architectural monument to house the historic Mariners' Club and a new hotel.
The fire was substantially doused by 8:30 a.m., according to Keung Sai-ming, deputy chief fire officer. The fire had been fought for almost nine hours.
Keung stated that when firemen got at the area on Thursday evening, flames were visible on many floors of the structure, but only temporary firefighting equipment was available.
"The building is still under construction, therefore the firefighting apparatus typically seen in other structures is not yet operational. We had several obstacles since we required a significant number of personnel to provide water to the extremely high floors to battle the fire," he explained.
Per The Washington Post, he noted that the building materials, such as wooden planks and metal bars, made it impossible for fire firefighters to move about. The area is flanked by a retail complex, a number of hotels, and residential and business structures. Early in the evening, throngs of people gathered on the street to see 250 firefighters and paramedics perform an operation.
"Last evening was pretty breezy. "According to our count, the blazing debris was flown towards five structures," said Keung.
"Parts of the balconies of two of the buildings, a hotel and a business structure, caught fire. Thankfully, our on-call cops swiftly extinguished them," Keung added.
As daylight came, the fire was far less severe than it had been hours earlier, although flames were still visible on numerous storeys. The external walls of the structure were charred, and portions of its scaffolding seemed unstable. Authorities said that a resident of a nearby building was frightened and felt ill, and was subsequently sent to a hospital. In addition, another nearby person felt ill and went to the hospital, they said.
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