AN arsonist believed to be linked to a triad turf war firebombed a karaoke bar in Tsim Sha Tsui yesterday, police say, killing 15 people in the second horrific blaze in two months.
The inferno which exploded in a staircase leading to the Top One karaoke bar at 4 am, was apparently designed to trap about 100 people inside, detectives said.
Flames and smoke roared quickly up the stairs and through air-conditioning vents into the maze of tiny rooms, quickly overcoming staff and customers.
Triad involvement in the attack, which took the lives of young people aged between 16 and 42, and injured another 15, was being investigated.
A 24-year-old man and a 16-year-old girl were in critical condition last night.
A witness was claimed to have seen a petrol bomb being hurled at the building while others said there had been a brawl between two gangs outside the bar shortly before the fire started.