350 evacuated from Hong Kong building as 80 firefighters battle blaze at Garden Rivera housing estate in Sha Tin
About 50 residents trapped on roof are led to safety by firefighters late at night
A seven-month-old infant and three-year-old boy were among five people sent to hospital in the early hours of Monday after inhaling smoke in a fire at a Hong Kong block of flats.
Firefighters were called at about 1am when a 16th-floor property burst into flames inside a 33-storey building at Garden Rivera housing estate on Tai Chung Kiu Road in Sha Tin.
“About 350 people were evacuated,” a police spokesman said.
Twelve fire engines and seven ambulances were sent to the scene along with about 80 firefighters and paramedics.
A female resident said dense smoke had filled the staircases when she tried to run downstairs, forcing her and her neighbours to turn back and head to the roof.
A spokeswoman for the Fire Services Department said about 50 residents were trapped on the roof before firefighters led them to safety.