A 67-year-old woman died earlier today after a fire broke out in her Hung Hom apartment, which is suspected to have been caused by lit incense from a home shrine.
At 12:42am, a security guard working at an apartment building on Hung Hom Estate saw smoke coming out of a unit and heard somebody inside calling for help, Apple Daily reports.
He called emergency services, after which firefighters soon arrived on the scene to rescue to the flat’s sole inhabitant, a 67-year-old woman surnamed Wong, and extinguish the fire.
Wong was found unconscious by the door and was rushed to hospital, but could not be resuscitated. As she was not burned, Wong is suspected to have died from smoke inhalation, but has yet to be determined pending an autopsy.
The Fire Services Department said there was a two-metre-high shrine crowded with offerings and candles in Wong’s apartment, the top of which was badly burnt. They suspect she had lit incense in worship at the time of the accident, which in turn ignited the offerings.
No suspicious circumstances were noted.
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