Mong Kok blaze victims died 25 minutes after fire started
Explosion sent smoke and heat racing up the stairwell where all nine of those who died had been trying to escape, inquest is told
The nine victims of the 2011 Mong Kok inferno are believed to have died 25 minutes after the fire broke out, the inquest into their deaths heard.
The Fire Services Department's acting assistant director, Li Leung-ming, told the Coroner's Court yesterday that his investigation team estimated that the residents lost their lives on the main staircase of the nine-storey Fa Yuen Street walk-up building at 4.55am on November 30, 2011.
He said this would have happened when the ignition of combustible gases from burning materials at the ground and mezzanine levels caused an explosion that sent smoke and heat racing up the stairwell of the building on 192-194 Fa Yuen Street.
The fire had first broken out at stall 268 in the market street before quickly spreading to other stalls and the building, which was adjacent to it.
Li said the estimate was based on evidence given by survivor Kung Sin-shing, who said he had seen sparks coming from electrical boxes on the wall at the main entrance. The boxes looked likely to explode, Kung said.
Kung had also heard a loud bang, followed by a complete blackout, when he attempted to run upstairs, Li said.