Hong Kong woman’s smoking suspected to have caused flat fire that killed her

Hong Kong authorities believe a woman’s smoking habit caused a fire in her flat on Sunday morning that led to her death.

Police said they had received a call around 7.43am from a security officer at Hoi Tat Estate in Cheung Sha Wan that smoke was emanating from one of the building’s flats.

The Fire Services Department said it sent 35 firefighters and ambulance personnel to the scene. The blaze was put out by 7.58am.

Firefighters forced entry into the flat and found a 59-year-old resident, surnamed Chow, unconscious with burns on her face.

The woman was taken to Caritas Medical Centre in Sham Shui Po for treatment but was later pronounced dead.

The department said that preliminary investigations found that the woman was a smoker and that a lit cigarette had caused the fire.