3 Hong Kong men escape unharmed after boat bursts into flames, smoke billows into sky
- Two fireboats, two speedboats carrying divers, 11 fire engines and two ambulances deployed to put out blaze on vessel off Telegraph Bay
- Three men left boat after it burst into flames and boarded smaller vessel, police said
Three men escaped unhurt after a 13-metre (43-foot) boat burst into flames in Hong Kong waters, releasing a dense plume of smoke.
Police said emergency personnel were called to the scene at around 8.30am on Thursday after the vessel caught fire about 200 metres off Telegraph Bay in the southwest of Hong Kong Island.
“A man called police, saying his boat was on fire,” a force spokeswoman said. “He reported that all [three] people had left the vessel and boarded another small boat”.
A source familiar with the case said the boat, owned by a shipyard and used to ferry its employees, was on its way from Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter to Kwun Tong to pick up workers.
“While manoeuvring off Telegraph Bay, a fire broke out in the engine room of the vessel,” the source said. “Three crew members immediately fled to the stern and boarded another boat for evacuation.”
Dense smoke was seen billowing out of the burning vessel before the arrival of fireboats and marine police launches.
The Fire Services Department said two fireboats, two speedboats carrying divers, 11 fire engines and two ambulances were mobilised to deal with the incident.
Firefighters deployed four water jets to put out the blaze.
Police said there were no casualties and everyone on board had been accounted for.
The source said a preliminary investigation had identified no suspicious circumstances and there would be no further involvement by police.
A fire services spokesman said an investigation into the cause of the fire was under way.
