Man, 21, arrested after cargo pallet catches fire at Hong Kong airport while awaiting loading for flight to Taipei
- The fire is being treated as arson, police say. Flames were seen rising from the shipment around 2.30pm. Firefighters promptly put out the fire
- No passengers were on board plane that cargo was meant for
Police arrested one man in connection with a fire at Hong Kong Airport on Tuesday afternoon, in an incident that is being treated as arson.
A 21-year-old non-Chinese man was arrested in the early evening. According to preliminary inquiries, the cause of the fire was “suspicious”, the police added.
A cargo pallet awaiting loading onto a Hong Kong Airlines plane caught fire shortly before a flight to Taipei was due to take off on Tuesday.
In pictures of the incident posted on social media, firefighters could be seen tackling the fire with flames and smoke rising from the cargo, with at least one firefighter climbing on top of the pallet.
“We received a call at 2.26pm and we arrived four minutes later. The case [concluded] at 2:55pm,” a Fire Services Department spokeswoman said.
