1 worker dead, 2 injured in fire at Hong Kong cold storage centre
- Emergency services were activated after receiving a report on polystyrene items catching fire in a basement of a building in Yau Tong
- Authorities are still investigating the cause of the blaze
A fire that broke out in a five-storey cold storage centre under demolition in Hong Kong on Monday killed one worker and left two others injured.
Emergency services were called to the Tung Yuen Street building in Yau Tong when the blaze started just before 2pm.
Sixteen fire engines and four ambulances were deployed to the scene, after authorities received a report about polystyrene items catching fire in the building’s basement.
According to assistant east divisional officer Wong Ping-kuen of the Fire Services Department, five workers were in the basement when polystyrene and fire-resistant items burst into flames. Three of them managed to escape.
“Two workers were found unconscious on the left and right side of the basement and their whole bodies were blackened by dense smoke when found,” he said.
A third worker who felt unwell after inhaling smoke was trapped in the staircases between the third and fourth floors of the building. He climbed onto scaffolding outside the window and firefighters used an extendable ladder of a fire engine to rescue him.
