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Photo: PETER PARKS / AFP
A fire broke out at a skyscraper construction site in a popular shopping district in Hong Kong late Thursday evening.
About 170 people were evacuated from surrounding buildings, the authorities said.
Firefighters fought the flames in the rehabilitation project in Tsim Sha Tsui district until the morning.
According to eyewitnesses, numerous upper floors of the building, which is more than 40 stories high, including the surrounding scaffolding, were on fire.
In addition, falling debris triggered smaller fires in adjacent buildings.
Fire extinguished in the morning
Hong Kong's deputy fire chief Keung Sai-ming said 250 firefighters and rescue workers battled the blaze throughout the night.
According to the information, the fire was finally extinguished around 8 a.m. (local time).
Keung Sai-ming said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
A person who was staying in a nearby building felt ill and was later taken to a hospital, authorities said.
Another resident from the area also felt unwell and therefore went to a clinic.
There were no reports of other injuries.
According to the Reuters news agency, the skyscraper is a project by the Empire Group to house the city's Mariners Club and a hotel.
The Mariners Club thus opened in 1967 to provide affordable accommodation for seafarers and was popular with passing seafarers.
wit/Reuters/AP
