At least ten vessels sink in typhoon shelter blaze

At least 10 vessels sank and more than 20 others broke their moorings during a six hours blaze at Aberdeen South typhoon shelter early today. 

The fire, which once spread over 100 meters, was largely put out at 8.40am after more than six hours. Thirty-five people were evacuated, and a 12-year-old boy was sent to the Ruttonjee Hospital in Wan Chai after inhaling smoke.

More than 200 firefighters and emergency personnel were deployed to the scene, according to the Fire Services Department. The officers are still investigating how the fire started.

In a press briefing today, fire services commander Yiu Men-yeung said they received a fire report at 2.34am and firefighters found two vessels on fire after arriving at the scene.

But the fire then spread to many other vessels because of the wind. At 4.44am, firefighters upgraded the alarm from No 2 to No 3 status -- on a scale of one to five, with five being the most severe.

Yu said it was difficult for firefighters to put out the fire because of the narrow water channel between the boats.

“The vessels were parked closely next to each other, so if one of them was caught on fire, the nearby ones would also be burnt. Also, some burning vessels had floated to places near other ships, causing a large spread of fire,” Yu said.

“At least 30 vessels were affected by the fire, but the exact number cannot be confirmed until our diving unit conducts underwater search,” he said, adding at least 10 ships have sunk.

Yu said the fire service used seven fire boats, 41 fire engines and ambulances, 11 fire boat monitors and eight jets in the operation. A total of 215 firefighters and emergency personnel were deployed, he added.

Yu also said they did not receive any report of missing people or animals. Only a boy was sent to hospital after inhaling smoke and 35 people -- 22 men and 13 women -- were evacuated to a nearby marine police base.