A particularly smoky and smelly fire gutted the kitchen of a Thai restaurant near the Horta da Mitra Municipal Market on Saturday night, according to the Fire Services Bureau (CB).
The fire erupted at around 11:30 p.m. in the kitchen of the well-known Restaurant Kruatheque in Rua de Henrique de Macedo. In Cantonese, the restaurant is known as “Chyuh Nguk” (“Kitchen House”). “Krua” means “kitchen” in Thai. The restaurant has been one of Macau’s most popular Thai eateries for decades. For many years it also featured a discotheque and live music.
Alerted by an emergency call, firefighters rushed to the scene and extinguished the blaze in 10 minutes, the bureau said.
About 100 residents living nearby self-evacuated during the fire, the bureau said. No one was injured in the blaze, but five residents told paramedics that they felt unwell after inhaling smoke. They received treatment in ambulances at the scene, after which they declined to be taken to hospital for further medical examination and treatment, according to the bureau.
The restaurant’s kitchen was completely gutted by the fire, which also damaged two restrooms and a store room, the bureau said.
Firefighters said they believed that the blaze was possibly caused by grease that had accumulated over time in the exhaust shaft. The bureau has launched an investigation into the exact cause of the fire.
According to the bureau, after the blaze erupted in the central neighbourhood colloquially known in Cantonese as “Jeuk Jai Yuen” (“Little Bird Garden”), residents living near Praça do Tap Seac, Avenida de Horta e Costa, and even in Mong Ha district reported that they noticed a charred smell.
Firefighters battle Saturday night’s smoky and smelly kitchen blaze at Restaurant Kruatheque in the Horta da Mitra neighbourhood. Photos: Iong Tat Choi
