The five children still in hospital following the Pat Sin Leng blaze are speaking and eating solid food again - and one asked for a hamburger for his first meal.
Medical staff at Prince of Wales Hospital burns unit are delighted at the progress the five have made, particularly in the last 10 days.
Head of the burns unit Professor Walter King Wing-keung said: 'They are getting better every day and we are optimistic they will continue to improve.
'They are beginning to speak and eat for the first time and they just need one or two operations to close up all their burn wounds. Then an extensive programme of rehabilitation will start.' So Yuen-shan, 12, Chan Chor-man, 14, Chong Mei-yee, 13, Cheung Yun-hang, 13, and Chan Wai-hing, 13, are all now in the burns unit, having been in intensive care for several weeks following the February 10 hill fire, which killed two teachers and three schoolchildren.
Professor King said the four girls were all eating Chinese food, while Yun-hang requested a hamburger for his first solid meal.
'Some of them are beginning to talk about what happened to them in the fire. The others can't talk much, because they are still quite weak.' There was good news for the children and fellow blaze survivors yesterday, when the hospital announced it was to buy a high-energy laser machine capable of reducing horrific burn scars.