Power restored after 4-hour outage plunges 760 Hong Kong flats into darkness

Electricity has been restored after a four-hour outage at a residential high-rise in a Kwai Chung housing estate, caused by a suspected water leak that triggered a power trip ahead of Lunar New Year’s Eve.

The city’s biggest electricity company, CLP Power, said that at around 9.13pm on Sunday, a suspected equipment fault at Ha Kwai House in the Kwai Chung Estate disrupted supply to about 760 households.

The power trip lasted four hours and electricity was restored at 1.30am on Monday.

CLP staff were dispatched to check and confirmed that the power facilities were operating normally. The building’s electricians then carried out emergency repairs.

Apart from the stairwells and parts of the lobby, the block was left in pitch darkness, prompting many residents to wait outside.

At 9.41pm, an elderly woman called for help, saying her breathing machine was running low on power. Firefighters sent an ambulance to assist, but she did not require hospitalisation.