Elderly woman hospitalized after stove explodes in North Point
An 82-year-old woman was hospitalized as her stove exploded, blew one of the windows out of the flat, and caused a fire in North Point early Saturday morning. Some 60 residents evacuated on their own.
The incident occurred at around 5.42 am on the 20/F at Cheong Shing Mansion when the elderly woman named Lam was starting the stove to cook.
The stove exploded the moment Lam started the stove, and she was immediately covered in flour. She also sustained burns to her limbs and rushed out of the flat to seek help from neighbors, who reported it to the police.
Lam was sent to Ruttonjee Hospital and was later transferred to Queen Mary Hospital.
Firefighters mobilized a jet and a breathing apparatus team, and the fire was put out around 6.09 am.
Police later seized a fallen window on the building’s podium on the second floor, the frame of which was already deformed.
After preliminary investigations, police believed the explosion occurred because of a gas leak.