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One Dead, Eight Hospitalized After Shek Kip Mei Estate Fire as Hundreds Evacuate

Investigators opened a case in a city already tightening residential fire-safety oversight after November's Wang Fuk Court disaster.

Overview

  • Police received reports at about 8:04 a.m. Sunday of thick smoke from an upper-floor flat at Mei Yu/Mei Yue House in Shek Kip Mei Estate, Kowloon.
  • More than 200 residents evacuated to safe areas, with firefighters leading 22 people out and others sheltered at a nearby school.
  • A man was found dead inside the affected unit, and eight people were taken to hospital, with two reported in serious condition.
  • A resident described toxic smoke spreading through the corridor from a cluttered 21st-floor flat, causing severe throat, nose and eye irritation.
  • Firefighters extinguished the blaze, the exterior wall of the flat was left heavily blackened, a section of Wai Chi Street was cordoned off, and the cause remains under investigation.