A fire at a Wong Tai Sin estate yesterday is thought to have been started by a 20-year-old man who killed himself shortly after on the building’s roof.
The blaze, which began in the 15th floor flat the man shared with his 64-year-old father, saw around 370 residents evacuated at 6am yesterday morning.
At around noon, a lift engineer found the man’s body on the roof.
“There were knife wounds on his [the dead man’s] neck and abdomen, and a cutter was also found at the scene,” Chief Inspector Cheng Ka-chun told the SCMP.
“The deceased lived with his father, and we found that he had been suffering depression after his mother passed away earlier [six months ago],” Cheng said. “There was no note or any document found [at the scene].”
CCTV footage reportedly shows the man going up to the roof shortly after the fire was started at Chun Sing House in Tin Ma Court.
The building’s fire alarm did not go off, but 38 paramedics, 62 firefighters, 28 fire engines and 14 ambulances were scrambled, and all other residents escaped without any major injuries.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
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