Fire involving 8 vehicles outside Hong Kong market extinguished

Eight vehicles caught fire on Friday (6 February) outside a wholesale fish market in Hong Kong, sending thick black smoke over parts of the Kowloon peninsula, before firefighters brought the blaze under control, authorities said.

The fire services department said the fire was extinguished after several fire engines were dispatched to the scene in western Kowloon.

A police spokesman told Reuters that eight trucks were damaged in the blaze and two people were taken to hospital, including one man who was reported to be in a coma.

A witness later saw two burnt lorries and a van in a car park outside the market after the fire had been put out, local media reported.

The incident comes as the Hong Kong government faces heightened scrutiny over fire safety following a deadly blaze last November at the Wang Fuk Court apartment complex in the northern Tai Po district, which killed 168 people.

• Death toll rises to 161 in Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades

Authorities have blamed substandard building mesh and other construction materials for that fire, the worst in the city in decades.

An independent committee is now investigating, including looking into potential systemic safety failures, with public hearings due to begin next month.

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Hong Kong Fire Kowloon Hong Kong fire Emergency Services Vehicle fire