He also said construction materials inside the building made it hard for firefighters to advance.

Firefighters managed to extinguish the blaze at around 8.30am this morning, while 170 people were evacuated due to the fire.

Addressing the media this morning, Keung said when firefighters responded to the scene, the fire had occurred on multiple floors of the construction site and is spreading both upwards and downwards to other levels.

He noted that the building under construction has no fire service installation in commission, except for some temporary ducting for them to convey water.

Keung also said because of the strong wind, the fire spread quickly and fiery debris was blown to five nearby buildings.

“Furniture on two balconies caught fire, but because firefighters had anticipated such things, the small fires were quickly extinguished,” he said.

Keung added that firefighters were still using jets to try to cool down the skyscraper and a team would be checking the building to see if its outer walls and remaining scaffolding are structurally sound.