Ten cabin cruisers sink in Hong Kong marina fire, no serious casualties

HONG KONG (Reuters) – A fire swept through a marina in Hong Kong in the early hours of Sunday, igniting fuel tanks as it passed along a line of closely moored cabin cruisers, and resulting in at least 10 sinking before firefighters extinguished the blaze.

Authorities in the Asian financial hub said at least 16 vessels were set ablaze, including those that sank, but there were no serious casualties.

The fire at the shelter in the city’s Aberdeen district began 2.30 am (1830 GMT Saturday) and took firefighters more than six hours to put out.

Fuel tanks could be heard exploding as thick smoke billowed skyward, covering the marina and neighbouring tower blocks, video footage shared with Reuters by the government showed.

Around 35 people were rescued from the vessels, RTHK public broadcaster reported, citing the fire services department.

(This story has been refiled to add dropped character in “at” in the third paragraph)

(Reporting by Farah Master; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)