Eight people suffered from smoke inhalation, with two seriously injured, after a fire gutted a flat in a Hong Kong residential building on Sunday evening.

Fierce flames engulfed the eighth-floor home soon after the blaze broke out in the Yip Cheong Building on Hill Road in Shek Tong Tsui at about 5.45pm.

Thick smoke was seen billowing out of multiple windows, as residents ran down to the street or up to the building’s rooftop for safety.

The Fire Services Department deployed two teams equipped with breathing apparatus and two water jets to tackle the blaze.

Four men and four women suffered from smoke inhalation. Five were taken to Queen Mary Hospital in Pok Fu Lam, while the others did not require treatment.

Among them was a woman in her 90s and her 58-year-old son who were both living in the flat. She fell unconscious and was sent to the intensive care unit along with her son, who also suffered injuries.

A police source said the son had been smoking earlier and the ash had ignited a mattress. The pair had tried to put out the flames, but to no avail.

The fire was extinguished before 9pm.

Investigators said they believed there was nothing suspicious about the blaze.

Traffic in the vicinity was interrupted with the closure of lanes in both directions on Des Voeux Road West, including bus and tram services.