New | Cigarettes go up in smoke after fire at warehouse
Firefighters looking into cause of blaze at building in Kwai Chung used to store dutiable goods
More than 1,000 cartons of cigarettes stored in a warehouse in Kwai Chung were set ablaze by a fire that broke out early Thursday morning.
The dutiable imports were temporarily stored in the bonded warehouse pending tax clearance before being sold on the market.
The fire started about 5.15am at the first-floor warehouse managed by the Brilliant Cold Storage Management company, at No 11 Wing Yip Street in Kwai Chung.
The flames spread across an area measuring 15 square metres. Some wine was also reportedly damaged.
A sprinkler system was triggered and the fire was put out.
No injuries were reported in connection with the blaze and no evacuation of the building was required.
Firemen are investigating the cause of the incident.
The exact number of cigarette cartons or bottles of wine damaged or destroyed is not immediately known.
A spokesman for Brilliant Cold Storage Management was unavailable for comment.
The building is 13 storey tall and provides 304,000 square feet of storage space. It is equipped with freezers and is usually used to keep temperature-sensitive cargoes and perishables.
