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Nine people were injured when rocks, some the size of watermelons, rained down on Choi Hung yesterday after being blasted from a construction site 300 metres away.

The debris crashed down on a double-decker bus and a housing estate.

A seven-year-old girl and her nine-year-old brother were among nine people injured by the debris.

The girl was just stepping onto the bus when the explosion occurred shortly before 5pm. She was pulled aboard and sheltered by her mother and brother as more rocks crashed down.

She was admitted to United Christian Hospital in a stable condition with leg injuries.

A 61-year-old man was also in a stable condition with undisclosed injuries.

The other victims included a woman, 46, who was slashed across the neck and hip by debris as she sat on the upper deck. She and a 38-year-old man were admitted for observation.

The victims included bystanders at the Choi Wan Estate.

Estate resident Lee Hoi-hoi, 64, said: 'I was stepping out of the building when I heard a loud explosion and as I looked up, rocks showered down ... luckily I had not been in a rush [to leave the building], otherwise the rocks may have struck me dead.'

He said normally there were warnings, such as an alarm gong, before blasting but yesterday there was no warning. Mr Lee sustained minor leg injuries.

Another bystander, Chan Chi-sing, said: 'Some of the flying rocks were as big as watermelons ... It's fortunate that no one got killed.'

Mr Chan said he was walking down the road to catch a bus when he heard the explosion. He looked up to see the rocks raining down.

He said he was lucky to only receive minor cuts to his hand.

A driver interviewed on Cable TV said: 'I pulled my car to a halt as a huge flying rock hit my windscreen. It scared the daylights out of me.'

He said he was fortunate not to have had an accident when he jammed on the brakes.

'By pulling my car to a halt so suddenly, I might have caused a chain collision and the consequences may have been very serious.'

His car's windscreen was smashed and the front of his car dented.

Police said a total of eight vehicles - the double-decker bus, two lorries, a minibus, a van and three private cars - were damaged.

Officers said the explosion was part of blasting work being carried out at a construction site on New Clear Water Bay Road opposite the Choi Wan Estate.

The construction site, which is on the side of a hill, has been fenced off.  Both the police and the Civil Engineering Department are investigating the incident.



Nine hurt as rocks rain from the sky