Update | Garage explosion in Wong Tai Sin leaves three dead, nine injured
Cause of explosion unknown as firefighters battle blaze for three hours
Three people were killed and nine others injured in an explosion at a Wong Tai Sin garage yesterday afternoon.
Police received reports of loud bangs and thick smoke coming from the garage on Wan Fung Street at 3.40pm. Firefighters arrived five minutes later and put the blaze out at 6.28pm.
Bystanders said the explosion, which took place in a garage on the ground floor of a five-storey residential building, was so loud they thought a bomb had gone off, adding they heard about 20 bangs after the initial blast.
Some windows of the flats above - home to 22 families - were shattered and at least seven vehicles parked nearby were damaged.
"I thought [a building had] collapsed," said Tommy Law, who was inside a church about 30 metres from the blast. "I immediately went outside to see what had happened. There was fire coming out of the garage and [thick] smoke."