Hundreds trapped by fire at World Trade Center in Hong Kong

Hundreds were trapped by a fire at the World Trade Center in Hong Kong on Wednesday.

Ng Yau Sheung, the Hong Kong Fire Services Department’s senior divisional officer, said 770 people were rescued from the skyscraper, with 40 people leaving on their own and 13 injured, The Associated Press reported.

The 13 injured went to the hospital, 10 for smoke inhalation and three from other injuries.

Hundreds became trapped on the roof of the 38-story building, with others stuck in an open-air area on the fifth floor. 

The building contained offices and a mall, and the fire began on the bottom two floors where the mall was undergoing renovations, according to the AP.

The fire is believed to have started in an electrical switch room for the mall on the first floor. The fire services system had been shut off in that part of the building. 

Investigations will determine if fire safety regulations were not followed.

“If the system is under repair, it’s possible that the contractor will shut down the area affected,” Ng said, as the AP noted. 

The fire took hours to extinguish as 176 firefighters were sent to the site.