Fire breaks out at public housing flat in Hong Kong; over 300 residents evacuated

A fire broke out at a residential unit in east Kowloon on Thursday (Jan 8) evening, forcing more than 300 residents to evacuate. 

Hong Kong police said the fire broke out at about 6.55pm in a residential flat at Lam Wai House in Lam Tin Estate. 

The force added that 300 residents self-evacuated before the arrival of emergency services.

Videos posted to Threads show a lower floor unit on fire, with flames leaping out of the unit's windows and reaching the air-conditioning compressor of a unit above it.

In the background, the fire alarm can be heard ringing. 

@asiaone A fire broke out at a public housing estate in East Kowloon on Thursday [Jan 8], forcing more than 300 residents to evacuate. #HongKongNews #HongKong #News #Fire #Building #Safety #Electric ♬ original sound - AsiaOne

Eyewitness YY Lam, who shared two such videos on Threads, said that some explosions were heard, adding in a follow-up post that the fire was put out at about 7.15pm.

Another Threads user, Peach, recounted that her mind went blank when she realised that it wasn't a false alarm.

"I saw a lot of smoke as I stepped out of the unit. I immediately went back into the unit and asked my mother to leave.

"Once downstairs, we looked for my father. It was so emotional when we found him that I broke down. Fortunately, we're all safe," Peach wrote.

There were no reported injuries in the incident.

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editor@asiaone.com