A fire in Hong Kong's global financial hub has left 20,000 households without power for two days due to hot and humid weather. The city government has requested an investigation into the accident, which occurred on Tuesday.
CLP Power, an electricity supplier, said one of its cable bridges in the northern district Yuen Long caught fire at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, cutting power to approximately 160,000 customers. There had been no injuries, according to the report.
Large-scale power outages are uncommon in Hong Kong.
One of two Hong Kong electricity companies, CLP Power, said its supply for 140,000 households had gradually resumed hours after the fire started around 7 p.m. on Tuesday night, but it would take two days to complete repairs for another 20,000 households in Tin Shui Wai.
Power to essential services such as hospitals and railways had been restored, but the company said in a statement that it would take two more days to restore power to the remaining 20,000 customers.
"We understand that the power outage incident in this very hot weather has greatly affected the public, and we are deeply sorry for this," the government said. The maximum temperature in Hong Kong is expected to be 31 degrees Celsius on Wednesday and Thursday, with high humidity.
The Education Bureau announced that 14 schools would be closed on Wednesday.
According to the Hospital Authority, services at several hospitals have been disrupted, and some patients may have to be transferred to other facilities.
"Our engineering teams are carrying out urgent repair work onsite," CLP Power said.
It is estimated that it will take two days to restore power to the remaining 20,000 affected customers, who are primarily located in Tin Shui Wai and include Tin Ching Estate, Tin Fu Court, Tin Yuet Estate, and Tin Chak Estate.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Hong Kong government stated that it is "extremely concerned about the power cable accident."
"We have already liaised with relevant government departments to provide support for customers in need. We apologize again for the inconvenience caused to the affected customers and would also like to thank relevant government departments."
The incident was also described as "isolated," and Hong Kong's overall power grid and power supply situation remained normal.
"The government will request CLP Power to investigate the incident in detail, find out the course and causes of the accident, and submit a report to the government, with a view to preventing similar incidents from happening again."
