Hong Kong fire: witnesses describe ‘burning debris falling from sky’ during 9-hour blaze
- ‘I immediately grabbed my phone and ran down to see what happened,’ an American businessman staying at the Sheraton Hotel says
- About 170 residents and tourists in neighbouring buildings were evacuated when fire broke out in 48-storey scaffold-covered tower in Tsim Sha Tsui
At 1am on Friday, American businessman Stuart Mason began hearing cracking and popping sounds coming from outside at the Sheraton Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Mason looked out his window and was shocked to see burning debris falling from the sky, as flames engulfed a 48-storey scaffold-covered tower – only about 100 metres (328 feet) away from his hotel.
“I immediately grabbed my phone and ran down to see what happened,” he said. “I was nervous. The fire was really huge and I saw burning planks falling down. Groups of people were already on the street when I came down. They were either taking pictures or filming the fire.”
Mason was not the only one running when the under-construction skyscraper, which once housed the former Mariners’ Club, went up in flames. About 170 residents and tourists in neighbouring buildings were evacuated.
Among the people startled by the fire were guests at the Imperial Hotel, just a two-minute walk from the burning site.
“People were worried as they could hear the flying debris falling onto their windows,” the hotel manager said, who was off that night but was called in to help. “They asked if they needed to be evacuated. The lobby was just packed.”
