Probe launched on fire at Tuen Mun recycling plants

Firefighters have launched a probe into a blaze that engulfed two recycling plants in Tuen Mun just before midnight on Christmas Eve.

The No 3 alarm fire, which started at 11.53pm on Monday night, was put out after seven hours. The blaze broke out at one recycling plant and swiftly spread to another nearby plant.

The Fire Services Department’s divisional commander Wu Tze-fung said it was difficult to extinguish the flames because there were a lot plastic and sundry items. The items were stacked up to four metres tall, he said.

The fact that the firefighters had to pump seawater from Lung Kwu Tan – which was 1,500 metres from the site – had also complicated efforts, he said. A total of 29 fire engines and 130 firemen were deployed to the site.

No one was injured in the accident.