4 sisters badly burned in Hong Kong flat blaze, 1 also suffers knife wounds after quarrel over sale of property
- Four in hospital with ‘life threatening’ injuries after blaze in Wong Tai Sin flat; one sister arrested
- Online video shows thick smoke billowing from flat; firefighters extinguish ‘suspicious’ blaze about 4pm
Four sisters suffered serious burns, with one in critical condition, after a flat blaze in Hong Kong’s Wong Tai Sin on Sunday afternoon.
Police arrested a partially-clothed woman, the oldest sister, in a corridor next to the 35th-floor flat in Lok Shun House in Tsz Lok Estate at 3.34pm after they fielded several emergency calls.
The four sisters all suffered burns and one also had knife wounds. They were all taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Ho Man Tin for treatment.
Firefighters put out the blaze at about 4pm.
Acting chief inspector Kwok Chun-hei of Wong Tai Sin police district said the flat was home to the eldest of the four.
He said the other sisters came to the home to discuss whether to sell a flat and a quarrel broke out. The oldest of the four, 57, is alleged to have attacked one of her sisters with a knife.
A police source said the woman managed to grab the weapon from the older sister after she was injured.
Kwok said a fire broke out soon afterwards and about 40 residents were forced to flee the building.
The older sister suffered burns to 70 per cent of her body. She was in a critical condition and transferred to Prince of Wales Hospital in Sha Tin.
The youngest, 46, was said to have suffered third-degree burns across her entire body.
She was in surgery on Sunday night.
Another sister, 53, had burns to her arms and her back and was said to be in a serious condition.
The other sister, 51, who had grabbed the knife, suffered burns to both arms and knife injuries to her stomach. She was also undergoing surgery.
The Fire Services Department said the burns on all the women covered large areas and were life-threatening.
Fire service officers said they had yet to establish what started the blaze, but it spread at a very fast rate and there were two ignition points so the cause was suspicious. No fire accelerant was detected.
The department said the flat was about six metres (20 feet) by five metres.
The living room, bathroom, and kitchen were severely damaged in the blaze.
An online video showed thick smoke billowing out from the flat before firefighters got the blaze under control.
Police said there was no evidence that mental health problems had played a part in the incident.
The investigation is being carried out by the Wong Tai Sin district crime squad.
