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Firemen inspect the ninth-floor Cypress House flat in the Kwong Yuen housing estate in Sha Tin where a fire caused the death of a woman and injured four people early on Friday morning. Photo: Edward Wong

Sha Tin fire kills one, injures four

A woman died and four others were injured in a fire at a public housing block in Sha Tin early on Friday. 

Lai Ying-ki

A woman died and four others were injured in a “suspicious” fire at a public housing block in Sha Tin early on Friday.

The blaze started in a flat on the ninth floor of Cypress House, Kwong Yuen estate, around 5.20am.

Firemen put out the flames in about 45 minutes and later found the burnt body of a woman in a bedroom of the flat. The woman and her husband lived in the flat, a Fire Services commander said.

The husband and three neighbours were injured and sent to hospital for medical treatment, for smoke inhalation and cuts.

A further 1,000 neighbours were evacuated to an open area downstairs. TV footage showed the exterior wall of the flat was covered in soot after the blaze.

After initial investigation, firemen on Friday afternoon said the blaze seemed suspicious since they were unable to say how it began and found no readily combustible fuels. The flat was extensively burnt, they said.

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The case has been referred to the Sha Tin police crime squad for further investigation.

Amateur video from a nearby building of a fire in a ninth-flour Cypress House flat in the Kwong Yuen housing estate in Sha Tin early Friday morning that left a woman dead and four people injured.

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This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: A woman died and four others were injured in a fire at a public housing block in Sha Tin early on Friday.
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