Acid attack hurts 30 in Hong Kong

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-05-17 08:47

HONG KONG - About 30 people were treated for burns and other injuries on Saturday after being splashed from two bottles of suspected corrosive liquid that fell from a multi-storey building in Hong Kong onto the street, police said.

"Sixteen males and 14 females were hurt by the liquid from the objects which fell from a height," a police officer said.

Police were investigating whether the bottles had been dropped intentionally or fell accidentally.

The incident happened in late afternoon in a bustling shopping district of Mongkok, a tourist spot, in Kowloon across the city from the Hong Kong Island.

The liquid spurted out after the bottles burst on hitting the ground, causing injuries and burns to the limbs, faces and backs of passers-by.

Some people were treated at the scene and others had holes in their clothing, Cable TV showed.

"A lot of people were walking on the street when the bottles were thrown from the building," a witness told the TV.

"The case is under investigation and nobody has been arrested so far," the police officer said.

Last December 46 people were injured in a similar case in the same district.