'Hoverboard' electric scooter starts fire in Hong Kong flat
Pre-dawn blaze in Choi Hung Estate leads to evacuation of some 150 residents, none injured
A newly-purchased electric scooter burst into flames in a local public housing flat this morning, leading to the evacuation of about 150 residents.
It was being charged in the living room of a seventh-floor flat in Kam Wah House at Choi Hung Estate on Prince Edward Road East in Choi Hung when the pre-dawn blaze broke out at about 5.30am today.
Its owner, a 31-year-old man – as well as his 53-year-old mother and his 30-year-old sister – were asleep inside the flat at the time of the incident.
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The man was awakened by choking smoke, according to police.
"He woke up his mother and younger sister before they ran out of the burning flat," a police source said.
Ten fire engines and two ambulances were dispatched to the scene, and about 60 firefighters and paramedics were deployed after receiving a call, according to Fire Services Department.
A department spokesman said about 150 people had fled the Kam Wah House, and firemen broke into two flats and led seven residents to safety.
“The blaze was extinguished at 5.59am. No one was injured in the incident,” he said adding that the flat was slightly damaged.