Four Die In Sau Mau Ping Flat Fire

Four people have died, including a two-year-old child, after a fire at a public housing flat in Sau Mau Ping.

Two others were injured, one of them seriously.

Duty assistant divisional officer Wong Kwok-chun said the fire broke out at around 3am in a fifth floor flat at Po Tat Estate.

He said four people were trapped in the apartment at the time of the fire.

"When we arrived at the scene of the fire, the fire was violent and the scene was at very high temperatures," he said.

One person was declared dead at the scene, while the other three died after being rushed to hospital.

Two others were taken to hospital for treatment, one of them in a critical condition.

Nine fire engines, seven ambulances, and 93 personnel were deployed to the fire, which was put out at around 4am.

Firefighters helped about 30 residents get to safety, while another 150 evacuated the building on their own.

A woman surnamed Lam told RTHK that she walked down from the 17th floor of the building with a two-year-old child.

"When we passed through the 5th floor, we saw a man lying on the floor. He just wore shorts… we don’t know…we just saw him lying on the floor. I guess he was…[dead]. The firefighter saw that and covered his body, probably afraid that we might be frightened," she said.

A primary five student surnamed Shum said she escaped the building with her father.

"I was woken up by someone screaming for help. Then I woke up, to try and see what was happening outside," she said, adding that when she looked out of the window she saw the fire and a broken window in one of the flats.

One male resident told RTHK that he left the building with a large group of people.

"At that time I heard people telling each other about the fire, asking people to leave. So we knocked on other people's doors and told people to leave," he said.

Firefighters were still investigating the cause of the blaze.

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