Disasters · I·PARK1 fireShek Kwei Chau fire: About 970 evacuated as I·PARK1 halts waste intakeAired October 27, 2026 at 4:34 AM UTCWritten October 27, 2026 at 4:40 AM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:07Fire forced about nine hundred and seventy workers and staff to evacuate an offshore0:10waste to energy plant.0:12Hong Kong's I Park One suspended waste reception, and its contractors stopped all0:17major systems.0:17Firefighters brought the blaze under control that afternoon.0:20What caused the fire and what will it take to restart safely?0:23I, Park One, occupies an artificial island off Shekhu Chow.0:27The October twenty-sixth, two thousand and twenty six fire interrupted a facility0:31designed to burn municipal waste and generate electricity.0:34Construction workers and operational staff were among those evacuated.0:37One staff member felt unwell and was taken to Pamela Ud Nethersoul Eastern Hospital.0:42No deaths were reported.0:43The evacuation proceeded in an orderly manner, with hundreds of people leaving the0:47site for safety.0:49The evacuation total rose from about nine hundred and thirty in the initial tally to0:52about nine hundred and seventy by the evening update.0:55That later figure includes construction workers and operational staff.0:58Was it NAF member was taken to hospital after feeling unwell?1:01Firefighters escalated the response to a number: three alarm, the third of Hong1:05Kong's five alarm levels.1:06They achieved control and substantial extinguishment just over four hours after the1:10recorded outbreak.1:12The fire began at twelve forty three p m and reached a number three alarm at one1:18twenty four.1:19Firefighters surrounded it at three forty seven, brought it under control at four1:23eighteen, and largely put it out at four forty five.1:26The evening follow-up put the onset at about twelve forty slightly less precisely1:30than the initial twelve forty-three timing.1:32By late afternoon, firefighters had largely extinguished the blaze.1:36Officials hadn't given a time for complete extinguishment.1:38The fire was on the roof above the third incineration module.1:41Investigators still had to determine what ignited there.1:44A reported bang hadn't been officially confirmed as an explosion, so the cause1:48remained an open part of the investigation.1:50The contractor stopped all major systems while waste reception was suspended.1:54The Environmental Protection Department began assessing damage and the effect on1:57operations, while pressing ahead with repair arrangements.2:00The Environmental Protection Department said it would extend operating hours at the2:04West New Territory's landfill extension.2:06It also said overall waste treatment operations remained normal.2:10The longer hours formed part of the response to I Park One's interruption.2:13I, Park One's design capacity is three zero tons of municipal solid waste a day.2:18Restoring it safely matters to Hong Kong's waste system.2:21But that capacity figure doesn't tell us how much waste the plant was processing2:25when the fire began.2:26At full operation, the plant was projected to export about four hundred and eighty2:29million kilowatt hours of electricity a year.2:32That's a full operation projection.2:34Actual operating figures would be needed to calculate any electricity shortfall or2:38waste, treatment loss caused by the fire.2:40The first module began trial operation on December22,2025 .2:45The other two were expected to begin testing progressively from the first quarter2:48of2026 , with all three expected to operate during2026 .2:53Those plans leave the plant's precise operating level at the time of the fire2:56unclear.2:57Officials hadn't confirmed whether all three modules had reached full commercial3:00operation by October twenty-six.3:03The Environmental Protection Department and Fire Services Department were to3:06investigate.3:06The contractor had to submit a report within seven days.3:09That deadline creates an accountability point for the fire's cause and prevention3:13work, while damage assessment and repair arrangements continue.3:15Safe resumption still depended on the damage findings and decisions about restarting3:19plant systems and waste reception.3:21The seven-day reporting deadline carried no promise of reopening.3:25Officials hadn't announced a date for the plant to receive waste again.Explore with HeyDexFollow via RSSThe shortThe short ↗
