‘Sudden dip in voltage’ traps 17 people in Hong Kong lifts for almost an hour
Power company CLP said poor weather had affected overhead power line supplying electricity to Fanling area
Rescue services freed 17 people trapped in lifts on Sunday morning after a tropical depression caused a split-second dip in voltage, according to a government spokeswoman.
The dip occurred at 10.41am and lasted for 0.1 seconds while a thunderstorm warning was in force, a spokeswoman for power company CLP said.
The company suspected poor weather had affected an overhead power line that supplied electricity to the Fanling area in the northern New Territories.
Meanwhile, the Observatory cancelled the standby signal No 1 at 7.20pm as a tropical depression moved away from the city.
The storm had skirted to within more than 400 kilometres southwest of the city and was expected to make landfall at Hainan Island in mainland China later tonight.
The typhoon signal was the sixth tropical cyclone warning issued for the city this year.
Hong Kong experienced a severe typhoon on August 23 prompting the Observatory to issue a maximum typhoon signal of 10. Typhoon Hato was the 15th No 10 storm since 1946 and caused HK$8 billion of losses to the city.
A few showers and thunderstorms are expected Monday morning, followed by sunny periods. Temperatures are forecast to range between 27 and 32 degrees Celsius. Very hot weather is expected by the middle of the week with a maximum temperature of 33 degrees.
