Welder May Have Sparked Fatal Fire

Welding sparks may have ignited material at the bottom of an elevator shaft and caused Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in 39 years, a top fire official said. Thirty-nine people were killed and 81 injured Wednesday in a blaze that swept through a 16-story building and burned for 21 hours before being brought under control. The elevators were being renovated, and the fire apparently spread from the basement directly to the 13th and 14th floors through the elevator shaft, Peter Cheung, the British colony’s director of fire services, told a news conference.