ALERT: Hong Kong: Subway Fire Injures Over a Dozen (February 10, 2017)

February 10, 2017

Alert – Hong Kong: Subway Fire Injures Over a Dozen

On Friday evening in Hong Kong, 17 people were injured after a man threw a Molotov cocktail onto a crowded subway train en route to the Kowloon peninsula’s busy Tsim Sha Tsui station. According to police, there is no evidence to suggest it was terrorism.

According to The New York Times:

Seventeen people were injured when a man believed to be mentally disturbed started a fire on a crowded subway train during the Friday evening rush in Hong Kong, according to the police.

The police said in a post on Facebook that one man had been detained in connection with the episode. The fire occurred at 7:14 p.m., according to Kwok Pak-chung, a police district commander.

One of the injured, a 60-year-old man with the surname Cheung, claimed while in an ambulance en route to the hospital that he had started the fire. He was arrested on suspicion of arson.

“The suspect was believed to be speaking nonsense,” Mr. Kwok said, explaining that the man was mentally ill. “What he said didn’t make a lot of sense.”

Local television stations reported that the suspect was carrying a document identifying him as a psychiatric patient, though officials did not confirm that account.

Mr. Kwok added, “At this stage, we’re certain that there’s no evidence suggesting it was terrorism or an attack targeting mass transit system.”

The Fire Department said an initial investigation suggested that the fire was caused by the ignition of a combustible material. Employees and commuters helped put out the flames after the train arrived at Tsim Sha Tsui.

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