Hong Kong protests: Aftermath of Polytechnic University siege

Images from inside Hong Kong's Polytechnic University show the aftermath of a week-long standoff between protesters and police.

On Tuesday, university officials spent hours searching for anyone left. The fight for control of the Polytechnic University has been one of the defining moments of nearly six months of anti-government protests in the territory.

Protesters barricaded themselves inside the campus almost two weeks ago. The authorities responded by sealing off the campus, trapping more than 1,000 inside. Over the past week, most protesters have either surrendered or escaped.

News imageBBC Presentational white space
News imageAFP Belongings are left on a basketball courtAFP
News imageBBC Presentational white space

A team including university management, security guards, councillors and the Hong Kong Red Cross walk through a canteen in search of any remaining protesters who may be hiding.

News imageBBC Presentational white space
News imageAFP A team walk though a canteen kitchen at PolyUAFP
News imageBBC Presentational white space

Food was left cooking on a hob in the canteen kitchen.

News imageBBC Presentational white space
News imageAFP Food left cooking on a hob is seen in the canteen kitchen at the Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityAFP
News imageBBC Presentational white space

Activists - some armed with bows and arrows - engaged in intense battles with the police during the siege. Other items found during the search included, below, a Molotov cocktail and a hammer left on the roof of a university building.

News imageBBC Presentational white space
News imageReuters A Molotov cocktail and a hammer left on the roof of a university buildingReuters
News imageBBC Presentational white space

A disparate collection of items were found discarded inside buildings on the campus. Here, clothes could be seen strewn all over a bathroom floor.

News imageBBC Presentational white space
News imageAFP Clothes are discarded in university bathroomsAFP
News imageBBC Presentational white space

Other items left behind by protesters included face masks...

News imageBBC Presentational white space
News imageReuters Face masks are left on a tableReuters
News imageBBC Presentational white space

...helmets and food left in one room...

News imageBBC Presentational white space
News imageReuters Belongings such as helmets and food are left in a roomReuters
News imageBBC Presentational white space

...and other belongings left in a dorm.

News imageBBC Presentational white space
News imageReuters Belongings left in a dorm room in Hong Kong PolytechnicReuters
News imageBBC Presentational white space

Officials found only one woman lying exhausted on a couch, who refused to leave. Others might be in hiding, but it is thought unlikely that anyone else remains.

News imageBBC Presentational white space
News imageReuters A shattered window at Poly UReuters
News imageBBC Presentational white space

All pictures subject to copyright.