Two people have been hospitalized with injuries connected to a fire that broke out in a construction site on Middle Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, on the site of the old Mariner’s Club building.
The injured people, who were motorists according to local media, were taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital for treatment.
Video posted on social media showed the flames erupting on the building’s upper floors and leaping far above the building, with burning embers and material raining down across the area.
According to reports, there were fears the fire could spread to nearby buildings, including the five-star Sheraton Hotel and the Hermes House office building. Reports indicated four adjacent buildings did catch fire, but the fires were extinguished. They did not say which buildings.
A fire breaks out in an office building in Tsim Sha Tsui, in Hong Kong on early March 3, 2023.
© AFP 2023 / PETER PARKS
Flames engulfed the scaffolding built around the structure, which was intended to become a 42-story club and hotel owned by Empire Group.
On a scale of one to five used by Hong Kong firefighters, the blaze was categorized as a three.
Authorities in the Chinese special administrative region gave no indication as to the cause of the blaze.