02 March 2023 , 18:33
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A blaze has torn through a massive building in the heart of Hong Kong's shopping district.
Firefighters have been battling a blaze all through the early hours of Friday, local time, and it has torn through a construction site in the city's popular shopping district.
The fire erupted at the site in Tsim Sha Tsui at about 11pm on Thursday night.
The site is surrounded by a shopping center, some residential and commercial buildings, with several hotels in the same area.
Police said four buildings nearby also caught on fire, but those blazes were extinguished.
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Bamboo scaffholding around the building is also said to be engulfed in flames.
The site is surrounded by a shopping center, some residential and commercial buildings, with several hotels in the same area (AFP via Getty Images)Two people, believed to be motorists, are understood to have been taken to hospital, although their condition is not known.
Burning debris and sparks were seen drifting around the area and at one point threatened to spread to the five-star Sheraton Hotel and Hermes House, a nearby office block, reports the South China Morning Post.
The site is a 42-storey redevelopment of the former Mariners’ Club, and completion was at first scheduled for last year.
The site is a redevelopment of the former Mariners’ Club, and completion was at first scheduled for last year (AFP via Getty Images)
The site is surrounded by a shopping center, some residential and commercial buildings, with several hotels in the same area (AFP via Getty Images)The club, for city and visiting sailors, opened in 1967, and was demolished in 2018.
The redevelopment project, managed by Empire Group, was estimated to cost around $6 billion ($764 million).
Empire Group are yet to comment on the incident.
The fire service received multiple calls about the fire at the site at about 11.10pm before alerting nearby residents affected by the smoke and an unusual smell to shut doors and windows and remain calm.
Two motorists were taken to hospital (AFP via Getty Images)
(Louise Delmotte/AP/REX/Shutterstock)Witnesses reported flames visible from the harbour, while others said sparks and burning material was falling in nearby residential streets.
Police said four adjacent buildings also caught on fire, but those blazes were extinguished.
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Tsim Sha Tsui is a tourist and shopping area in Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is famous for its skyscrapers and an iconic view of the city’s Victoria Harbour.
The main building ablaze is known as a “harbourside icon”.
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