A fire breaks out in a skycraper in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, March 3, 2023. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG – About 170 people were evacuated from a Hong Kong shopping area after a fire broke out in a skyscraper late on Thursday night, the government said.

The No. 3 alarm fire which broke out at a construction site on Middle Road in Tsim Sha Tsui on Thursday night was upgraded to No. 4 alarm at 1.46 am early Friday. The fire was put under control at 8.08 am and largely put out at 8.30 am.

Police said the cause of the fire is currently unknown

Firemen used two jets and mobilized three breathing apparatus teams to fight the blaze.

Firefighters battled the blaze at the redevelopment project in the Tsim Sha Tsui district throughout the early hours of Friday, the flames visible from the other side of Victoria Harbour.

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Several upper floors of the building were engulfed in fire, according to witnesses, and blazing falling debris sparked smaller fires in adjacent structures.

Police said the cause of the fire is currently unknown.

The evacuated people rest on the street after a blaze broke out in a skyscraper in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, March 3, 2023. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Keung Sai-ming, Hong Kong's deputy chief fire officer, told reporters that 250 firefighters and rescue workers battled the blaze for the entire night. He said the cause of the fire was being investigated.

The building is a 42-storey project by the Empire Group to house the city's Mariners Club and a hotel, according to the company’s website.

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The Mariners Club opened in 1967 to provide affordable accommodation to seafarers, and was popular among maritime workers passing through Hong Kong.

The Empire Group did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.