On 26 February 1918, there was a fire in the racecourse that claimed at least 590 lives. By the next day, as many as 576 confirmed deaths were reported by the Hong Kong Telegraph. It was caused by the collapse of a temporary grandstand, which knocked over food stalls and set bamboo matting ablaze. Most of the dead bodies became unrecognizable and assumed to be "Chinese". They were buried in the nearby So Kon Po area (now the site of Hong Kong Stadium). A Chinese-styled memorial site known as "Race Course Fire Memorial" was built in the Chinese cemetery (now behind the east stand of the stadium).