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Christy Leung

Peace Chiu

 At least 10 stalls in Yau Ma Tei Wholesale Fruit Market were burnt after one of them caught fire on Sunday afternoon, sending plumes of black smoke skyward as a fire crew battled to contain the blaze.
The fire first broke out at a stall built from metal sheets and located near Shek Lung Street at 4.24pm on Sunday. It was upgraded to a third-alarm 13 minutes later.
Firefighters and police officers went to the scene after receiving several reports from nearby residents.
Watch: fire at Yau Ma Tei Fruit Market

Kowloon West divisional commander of fire services Lo Kam-wing said around 40 people were evacuated and no casualties were reported.
“The area of fire was as large as 20m by 30m. We are still looking into the cause of fire and no explosion were reported,” Lo said.
It is understood that dangerous goods including compressed gases were found near the fire ground.
Television images showed large swathes of mesh and metal scaffolding alight in a blaze among the stalls, while loud cracks were reportedly heard as the stalls burned. Some residents in the area reported smoke billowing around their high-rise homes at the height of the fire.
The fire was contained shortly after 8pm and put out at 9.19pm. The department deployed 154 fire services personnel, 32 fire trucks, four ambulances and mobilised eight jets.
A man, asking only to be identified by his surname Yeung, said he handles transport for one of the stalls and was sleeping in a hostel nearby when he was awakened by smoke.

“It was a little after 4pm,” he said. “The stall behind me was on fire and it was huge,” he said.
He said the stall where the fire started was an ice storage facility and that the fire rapidly spread to other stalls.
A stall owner who was away when the fire started said his dog was locked in the stall at the time. He was emotional when he finally managed to reunite with his dog.
“I’m very grateful to the firefighters for saving my dog,” he said.
Au Nok-him, a Legislative Council candidate for the wholesale and retail functional constituency, said he rushed to the market immediately upon hearing about the fire.
He quoted a shopkeeper as saying the blaze was caused by another shopkeeper doing some welding.
By his count, Au estimated more than 10 stalls had caught fire.
The fruit market, founded in 1913, comprises several blocks of buildings made of bricks and stone. It spans Ferry Street, Waterloo Road, Reclamation Street and Shek Lung street in Yau Ma Tei.
The government’s Antiquities Advisory Board classified the market as a grade two historic building.
The fire prompted the Transport Department to close the following areas temporarily: all lanes of Waterloo Road westbound between Shanghai Street and Ferry Street; all lanes of Reclamation Street northbound between Wing Sing Lane and Waterloo Road; all lanes of Ferry Street southbound between Dundas Street and Waterloo Road.
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department also scrapped a Sunday night programme, “Princess Changping”, presented by the Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong at Yau Ma Tei Theatre for the sake of safety. Ticket holders could receive refunds.


Stalls destroyed as fire tears through Yau Ma Tei Wholesale Fruit Market in Hong Kong

Smoke billowing from a fire at Yau Ma Tei Wholesale Fruit Market on Sunday. Photo: Sam Tsang

Facebook capture of a fire broken out in Yamatei fruit market. Photo: Facebook.

Photos of ‘unimaginable’ Hong Kong fire released for first time

Photos taken by firefighters inside the industrial building in Ngau Tau Kok. Photos: SCMP Pictures

The interior of the fourth-alarm blaze in Ngau Tau Kok industrial building. SCMP Pictures (Handout)

News

Hong Kong

Law and Crime

No casualties reported in third-alarm blaze that started from a stall, but surrounding road sections closed


Stalls destroyed as fire tears through Yau Ma Tei Wholesale Fruit Market in Hong Kong

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}No casualties reported in third-alarm blaze that started from a stall, but surrounding road sections closed

No casualties reported in third-alarm blaze that started from a stall, but surrounding road sections closed