TWO people were taken to hospital yesterday after a fire and a series of explosions shook a department store and an office block in Central.
Emergency services evacuated the 16-storey Chiao Shang Building at the junction of Stanley Street and Cochrane Street after a blaze and explosions wrecked its first-floor transformer room.
A worker at the neighbouring Chinese Merchandise Emporium said the force of the blasts made the building shake as though it had been hit by an earthquake.
Salesman Mr Tsui Chui-wah, 60, said: ''At first, I saw a flash of light. I felt the building shake like it had been hit by an earthquake, when I heard one of several explosions.'' Police sealed off Queen's Road Central and Stanley Street for nearly two hours. Traffic hold-ups were reported as far away as Wan Chai.
One employee said she and colleagues helped rescue five other employees trapped inside a cargo lift.
The two injured men, aged 30 and 64, were admitted to Queen Mary Hospital.
