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Work at crane site halted as probe starts

Martin Wong

All work at a Tuen Mun construction site has been suspended while government officials investigate what caused a crane to tip over and fall on to a Light Rail Transit train, injuring 18 people.

Officials from the a number of departments, including the Labour and the Architectural Services departments, visited the site, where a new public swimming pool has been under construction, yesterday.

No one on the train was seriously injured during Thursday's incident when the wheel-mounted crane toppled over just after 2pm, sending its 35-metre arm crashing on to the route 505 train as it approached Leung King station with 40 to 50 passengers. All those treated at hospital were discharged. The crane driver was unhurt.

A spokesman for the Labour Department said an order had been issued to suspend all crane operations on the construction site. He did not know when the suspension would be lifted.

A number of departments were investigating the incident, with the Labour and Architectural Services departments mainly responsible, the spokesman said. As the investigation was on-going, no further comment could be made.

Overhead cables damaged in the incident were repaired overnight and all services on the four Light Rail routes affected returned to normal yesterday.

The MTR Corporation, which operates Light Rail services, stressed that construction companies were required to comply with the provisions of the Railway Ordinance when working on sites within 50 metres of a Light Rail track. They also had to get the MTR's agreement for the construction methods they wanted to use. 'This is to ensure that safe railway operations and passenger safety will not be affected,' an MTR spokesman said.

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