Fire breaks out fruit market in Hong Kong

HONG KONG -- Firefighters were battling a huge blaze engulfing a fruit market in Hong Kong on Sunday afternoon.

The fire broke out at a store built from metal sheets, located at the Yau Ma Tei Wholesale Fruit Market, at around 4:24 pm local time (0824 GMT), sending palls of black smoke high into the sky, according to local TV reports. It was raised to a No. 3 alarm in 13 minutes.

Fire crew and police officers rushed to the site after receiving reports from nearby residents. No casualties have been reported so far and the cause of the fire remained unknown.

The market was founded in 1913 and is classified as a Grade II historic building by the Antiquities Advisory Board. It is also next-door to the Yau Ma Tei Theatre, another listed building.

The incident occurred less than three months after two firefighters died when battling a fire that razed an industrial building in Hong Kong's East Kowloon.