A UNIVERSITY student who died this month after inhaling spilled chemicals was not warned to leave the area where the accident occurred, an inquiry has found.
The floor was not evacuated until 22 minutes after the spill, and the victim and another student were not sent to hospital for another 36 minutes.
Despite the findings that the laboratory safety system and training at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology were insufficient, the inquiry has refused to address the issue of responsibility.
The report of the first phase of the inquiry found the postgraduate student, Richard Leung Wai-cheuk, 25, and his colleagues were not told of the spill.
Thinking that he was moving away from the spill, Leung had headed to the site and spent several minutes there to wash his eyes irritated by the fumes.
A supervising professor said he had had no time to warn the students of the accident and regretted having failed to do so.