HONG KONG – A fire broke out in a densely populated residential building in Hong Kong’s bustling Kowloon district on April 10, killing five people and injuring 41 others, the city’s hospital authority and fire services said.

People inside the 16-storey building waved towels from windows to signal that they needed to be rescued, broadcaster RTHK said, adding that the fire had started at a gym there.

Some surrounding roads had to be sealed off, disrupting morning rush hour traffic.

The authorities said some 300 people were evacuated after the blaze began at the building in the city’s Yau Ma Tei neighbourhood shortly after 7.53am.

Hundreds of firefighters put out the blaze at the 60-year-old building after several hours, rescuing 250 people with 50 more evacuating themselves, said local fire department official Lam Kin Kwan.

Among those hurt were 38 hospitalised with burns and inhalation injuries, said assistant chief ambulance officer Tong Sze Ho.

At least six of the injured were in a serious condition, the hospital authority said, with one in a critical condition.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said he had instructed the authorities to make an “all-out” effort to treat the injured, while government departments were investigating the cause of the fire.

He added that he was “deeply saddened” by the deaths and injuries, and extended his condolences to the affected families.

The blaze, rated three in the city’s five-grade system, was brought under control by 8.54am, an hour after fire services were alerted to the fire in Jordan, an area full of homes and offices across the harbour from the financial centre.

Firefighters were still battling on April 10 to put out a separate massive blaze 15 hours after it erupted at a building site in the northern New Territories, a fire services spokesperson said, but added that no casualties were reported. REUTERS, AFP