Seven killed and 11 left injured after blaze breaks out in apartment building

AT least seven people have been killed and 11 injured in a fire at an apartment building in Hong Kong that may have started at a gathering of people from the city’s Nepalese community, authorities said.

The blaze broke out on Sunday night in Yau Ma Tei, a usually bustling area in Kowloon packed with old apartment blocks, shops and businesses.

The apartment where the fire started may have been operating as an unlicensed restaurant, according to the area’s district council member Leslie Chan.

The Hong Kong government said those who died were four men and three women, with the ages of those killed and injured given as between eight and 48. Chan said the dead and injured were from the Nepalese community.

Fire officials said the cause of the blaze was still unknown.

The building lacked a sprinkler system and people were trapped in the back of the kitchen, according to fire services department officer Cheung Kwong-yuen.

Local media reports said that people in the restaurant were celebrating Diwali, a Hindu festival, as well as a birthday when the blaze occurred.

Lit candles had set soundproofing materials on fire, according to the reports.

Residents in the neighbourhood said those caught in the fire were from Nepal. Many Nepalese live in the area and work in finance, retail and security businesses.

The apartment in the low-rise building where the fire broke out had some of its windows blown out and exterior walls were charred with soot.