10 hurt after brakes fail on minibus

An elderly driver and his nine passengers escaped serious injury when the brakes of their minibus failed on a slope in Wong Tai Sin yesterday.

Lam Sai-hong, 72, stopped the minibus by swerving into the opposite lane and ramming it into a hillside in Nga Chuk Street, near Chuk Yuen North Estate, at 12.15pm.

A police spokesman said the minibus stopped when it hit wooden planks erected around a construction site.

Five ambulances and three fire engines attended the accident.

Mr Lam was trapped and had to be freed by firemen.

His passengers, four men and five women, were also injured, police said.