A fire at a public housing unit in Wong Tai Sin on Sunday claimed the life of an elderly resident and forced the evacuation of about 300 people.

Firefighters were notified of the blaze at Lung Kwong House of Lower Wong Tai Sin Estate at 8.45am, and it took them about half an hour to put it out.

A charred body was found inside the flat afterwards.

The deceased was an 80-year-old woman who lived alone.

“We found a lot of clutter inside the unit where the fire broke out. The department’s preliminary investigation indicated the fire was not suspicious,” senior station officer Chan Chun-wai said in a media briefing.

“We will carry out the investigation with other relevant departments through the direction of whether the clutter was accidentally set alight by a cigarette butt or by burning of incense and joss paper.”

Chan added that a woman felt unwell due to smoke inhalation and was sent to Queen Elizabeth Hospital for treatment.


Edited by Edmond Fong