The soot-blackened exterior of a residential unit on Canton Road in Yau Ma Tei where a fire broke on the evening on Nov 15, 2020, killing at least seven. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG - At least seven people, including a 8-year-old boy, were killed in Hong Kong's deadliest fire in nearly a decade as flames leapt in a four-storey building in Yau Ma Tei on Sunday evening. 

Firefighters arrived at the scene, near the junction of Canton Road and Saigon Street in Jordan, at 8:42 pm, three minutes after they had received a call

Firefighters arrived at the scene, near the junction of Canton Road and Saigon Street in  Yau Ma Tei, at 8:42 pm, three minutes after they had received a call. The blaze was largely put out within eight minutes, Fire Services Department officers said. Police said 30 people had been evacuated from the building.

In all, 18 people, mostly of Nepalese ethnicity, were rushed to hospitals, while four male and three female persons between 8 and 40 died at hospitals, authorities said at a joint press briefing in the early hours of Monday. The deceased are believed to be related to each other.

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Fire services officers said a family get-together was on at a 75-square-meter unit where the fire broke out. Police said they were investigating whether the unit was being used as an unlicensed Nepalese restaurant.

Some of the injured people were found trapped in a kitchen inside the unit, and some had escaped through a washroom window. They were taken to nearby Kwong Wah and Queen Elizabeth hospitals, Caritas Medical Centre in Sham Shui Po and Princess Margaret Hospital in Kwai Tsing.

On Monday afternoon, more than 70 percent of shops on both sides of Canton Road were seen closed in the stretch where the building is located.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor (third right), together with Director of Fire Services Joseph Leung Wai-hung (fifth right) and Director of Buildings Yu Tak-cheung (first right) inspected on Nov 16, 2020 the scene of the fatal fire incident on Canton Road, Yau Ma Tei. Lam instructed relevant departments to take follow-up actions. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVT)

A woman in her fifties, who works at a restaurant one block away from the site, said her restaurant always paid attention to fire safety. For small flats reverted into eateries in the crowded commercial district, one spark was enough to start a deadly fire, she said. 

A man in his 60s, who lives in a nearby building, described Sunday night's tragedy as terrible. He said lives would not have been lost had more attention been paid to fire safety and business operation regulations.

In a midnight statement, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said she was “deeply saddened” at the tragedy, adding that she had instructed the relevant departments to find out the cause of the fire and the heavy casualty. Lam visited the site of the fire around 8:30 am on Monday and received updates from fire services officers.

“I extend my deepest condolences to the injured and the families of the deceased. The Social Welfare Department and the Home Affairs Department will render all necessary assistance to them," Lam said.

She said the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government attached great importance to fire safety in buildings, in particular those aged buildings with fire safety facilities not up to the current standard.

“We hope to enhance fire safety in buildings and improve the living environment of residents through urban renewal and building rehabilitation. At the same time, the FSD (Fire Services Department) and the BD (Buildings Department) will inspect old buildings to request property owners or occupants to rectify irregularities, providing necessary assistance in the process," Lam said.

"In light of the risks exposed by this fire accident, I have asked the FSD and the BD to further step up inspections to eliminate serious fire safety threats to safeguard people's lives and property," she added.

In a statement Monday, Non-official Members of the Executive Council expressed profound sadness at the multiple deaths and injuries. They believed the Hong Kong government would render all possible assistance to the families of the victims.

Shuttered shopfonts in the vicinity of the Yau Ma Tei building that caught fire on the evening of Nov 15. On Nov 16 in Hong Kong. (GU MENGYAN / CHINA DAILY)

The government has set up two inter-departmental help desks for assistance and public enquiries. 

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On Nov 4, 2011, a fire at a building on Fa Yuen Street in Mong Kok killed nine people and injured 34. It was later classified as an accident.