An off-duty policeman tried in vain to save a 19-year-old university student as she screamed for help when her flat was engulfed by flames yesterday.
Firemen later found her unconscious in a bedroom of the 500 sq ft apartment on the 17th floor of Koway Garden, Chai Wan, and she was certified dead in hospital.
Firemen suspect the blaze could have been caused by an overheated computer. Three other residents were slightly injured.
About 60 firemen battled the blaze, which damaged flats above, below and next door, for more than an hour before putting it out.
The policeman said he tried to free the woman, a first-year student at Shue Yan University, but was unable to open the door.
'I noticed a smell and went down to find out why,' said the man, who lives two floors above. As I came to flat 17A, I heard a woman screaming for help from inside. I knocked and asked if she could open the door but she did not answer. So I opened the metal gate but could not open the wooden door, not even after kicking it. So I decided to turn back to alert other residents and help evacuate them.'