Mainland Chinese tourist plunges 11 metres to his death in Ocean Park accident

A mainland tourist fell about 11 metres to his death after he apparently lost his balance while sitting on an Ocean Park railing yesterday.

Cao Tao, 50, arrived from Hubei province on Wednesday and was visiting the theme park in Aberdeen alone at the time the fall took place at about 10.30am, police said.

The 1.1-metre-high metal barrier he was sitting on goes around an open-air plaza known as The Summit, where chairs and tables are put out for visitors.

Cao had been spotted facing the resting area, about 11 metres above an access pathway.

"A witness saw the man sit on the railing," a police source said. "Shortly after he turned around, he heard a loud noise, looked back and realised the victim had fallen down.

"It appeared he had lost his balance, fallen backwards and tumbled down."

Cao was unconscious when a first-aid crew from the theme park attended to him on-site.

The man was taken to Ruttonjee Hospital in Wan Chai, where he was declared dead at 11.50am.

Police said an initial investigation found nothing suspicious and indicated it was an accident.

Last night, officers were trying to locate where he was staying in the city.

An Ocean Park spokeswoman said it was the only such accident at the theme park in recent years.

The Summit is about a three-minute walk from the cable car terminal on the hilltop.

"The area where the guest fell is protected by a 1.1-metre-high railing and there are warning signs telling visitors not to climb the railings," the spokeswoman said.

She said Ocean Park would assess whether it was necessary to introduce new measures to prevent a repeat of such an accident.

The theme park attracted about 7.7 million visitors between July 1, 2012, and June 30 last year.