Five people were killed and about 35 others injured in a fire at a residential building in Jordan on Wednesday morning.

Chief Executive John Lee expressed deep sorrow over what happened and offered his condolences to the victims.

The blaze broke out before 8am at a gym in New Lucky House on Nathan Road. It was upgraded to No. 3 alarm within minutes.

Firefighters said it was surrounded about an hour later.

Some people had been waving towels at windows, while waiting to be rescued.

One resident, Darrin, told RTHK that he'd climbed out of his window to be rescued, but then decided against waiting and headed for the stairwell instead.

"People were screaming, somebody was on the ground in the hall," he said.

"It got so much smoke in my room, I said I wasn't going to make it in there... I kept going and I finally got to the other side of the building and the stairwell, and I came down."

A woman surnamed Tsui, who lives on the 15th floor of the building, said her dog saved her life.

"He's the first one to wake up. He woke us up first, and then we all came down.

"We just saw a lot of smoke coming out and then we couldn't really breathe properly."

Authorities said about 150 people were evacuated.

Traffic in the area was disrupted. The Transport Department sealed off part of Hung Hom-bound Jordan Road, while the MTR closed Exit B1 at Jordan Station, which is next to the building.

In a statement, the CE said he's highly concerned about the incident.

Lee said he has told the Hospital Authority to do its best to treat the injured, and the police and Fire Services Department to investigate the cause of the deadly blaze.

Chief Secretary Eric Chan said various government departments are offering help to those affected.

"We have opened some centres for those affected, and our care team members and also district officers are there to assist them. The Social Welfare Department will send its officers there as well to see how we can help them," Chan told reporters in Legco.

The government announced that the Yau Tsim Mong District Office has set up interdepartmental help desks for those in need.

Yau Tsim Mong district councillor Chris Ip said there are about 100 subdivided flats and 30 guesthouses at New Lucky House.

He also said complicated building ownership means it was not easy to deal with management issues.

"There may be rubbish piling up, and this should be handled by the owners’ corporation. But as the ownership structure is complicated, problems haven’t been solved properly," Ip said.
_____________________________
Last updated: 2024-04-10 HKT 13:04