How one of the worst fires in Hong Kong’s history started, taking the lives of 176 people
An explosion in a Wing On godown on Des Voeux Road West that contained dangerous goods sparked the blaze, which raged for hours, taking on ‘ever-more-menacing proportions’
At 8.03am on September 22, 1948, one of the worst fires in the history of Hong Kong broke out after an explosion in a Wing On godown, on Des Voeux Road West. Ultimately, it would kill 176 people and injure 69 others.
The South China Morning Post broke the story on September 23 with the headline: “Over Hundred Casualties; Godown Fire Still Raging After Sixteen Hours; Damage Estimated at Forty Million Dollars; Two Jumped to Death”.
“Scene of the outbreak was a five-storey godown […] which contained dangerous goods, including celluloid and crepe rubber [on the ground floor] while the upper four stories comprised 36 tenement flats,” the story said. “Several charred bodies were found in the street and lanes surrounding the building.” Before the fire brigade and ambulances arrived, “two people jumped to their death. One was a man clad in pyjamas and the other a woman with a child in her arms”.
“In spite of thousands of gallons of water and torrential rain, the fire continued to assume ever-more-menacing proportions.” At 7.45pm, the fire intensified and “burning soot and sparks shot up to a height of over one hundred feet”.
On September 26, the Post reported that a Commission of Inquiry had been set up.