Violence escalates in Hong Kong

Violence escalated in Hong Kong on Saturday as the city’s Hennessy Road in Wan Chai was blocked by a wall of fire lit by rioters, with flames reaching meters-high.

The illegal assemblies by crowds of masked, black-clad protestors turned violent as night fell.

Around 7:30 pm, some set fires on a makeshift barricade blocking all lanes of Hennessy Road, while pouring flammable liquid to fuel the blaze.

The fire shrouded the whole pavement and spread to nearby buildings, triggering fire sprinklers. The flames were put out by firefighters about 30 minutes later.

During several skirmishes in various locations at night, protestors threw gasoline bombs, bricks and other missiles at police officers.

Vandalism was also seen from Admiralty to Causeway Bay, with shutters of many shops and building facades along the way sprayed with graffiti, while a glass screen door was smashed in Wan Chai MTR station.

The glass windows of a roadside billboard were also shattered.

At around 8:40 pm, MTR shut down the Admiralty station, one of the busiest interchanges in the city’s railway system.

During dispersal operations from Admiralty toward Causeway Bay, police made several arrests.

Blue dye-filled water cannons were fired on Saturday for the first time to disperse protestors.

It was believed that the blue dye could be traced and used to identify protestors.

In a statement issued around 7:10 pm, police strongly condemned the illegal acts and warned protesters to stop.