Cargo ship fire put out in Hong Kong, no casualties reported

HONG KONG - The fire at a cargo ship off Hong Kong coast was largely put out at around 8:20 am local time Thursday after breaking out on Wednesday afternoon, with no casualties reported.

The accident started at 5:26 pm local time on Wednesday at the vessel carrying metal scrap in waters south of Tsing Yi and was upgraded to No. 3 alarm (No. 5 alarm is the highest) at 11:09 pm, the government said.

According to local media, the vessel involved was a 120-meter long cargo ship carrying about 2,000 tons of metal scrap.