Hong Kong roof collapse injures three at university

HONG KONG — The roof of a building at Hong Kong’s City University collapsed on Friday (May 20), injuring three people, officials said, sparking panic among eyewitnesses who said it sounded like an explosion had gone off.

The accident happened around 2.30pm at a university sports centre in the Kowloon Tong neighbourhood, with footage showing the caved-in roof along with police, firefighters and ambulances at the scene.

“The roof collapsed and there were three people were injured,” a police spokeswoman told AFP, adding that the affected area was 30 metres squared.

The three people who were hurt have been brought to hospital, police said without detailing the extent of their injuries from the collapse, which occurred in an area used for badminton and basketball.

“When it collapsed... people ran away and were saying ‘there’s an explosion, run away’,” a witness who was identified only as Mr Tsui told Cable Television news.

Such accidents are very rare in Hong Kong, a city of seven million people. AFP