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Clifford Lo

For the first time since it opened, the highway to the airport was rendered impassable, with more than a metre of muddy water trapping cars and requiring emergency workers to rescue  stranded people.
Rain triggered landslides on the hill opposite  the Caribbean Coast complex and mud cascaded down on to the North Lantau Highway shortly before 8.30am.
'There were three waterfalls on the hill as muddy water washed down,' a  resident  of  Caribbean Coast said.
At least  10 vehicles, including two buses and taxis, broke down in the 1.5-metre-deep  water. Firemen were called in to rescue people.
A taxi driver said: 'I tried to speed away on the [Kowloon-bound] slow lane but vehicles in front broke down. As I tried to reverse my taxi, the water came very quickly and my vehicle broke down.
'I could not open the door. I had to lower a window and climb out.'
The driver of a double-decker bus said the water was chest-deep and she had to go to the upper deck to stay dry.
The Transport Department advised  the public to  us the railway, and the MTR Corp put on more trains and extended services until 2am.
The deputy director of the Highways Department, Cheung Hing-wan, said sand and stones had been washed into a drain  and workers needed time to clear the blockage.
An excavator was called in to clean out the mud but it broke down in the water and  another  was ordered in.
Mobile pumps were called in to clear the water.
Shortly after 4pm, the Kowloon-bound lanes of the highway were opened to two-way traffic.
Last night, workers were  removing mud that had been left on the airport-bound lanes after the  water drained away.
Secretary for Transport and Housing Eva Cheng  said the government would review  arrangements for co-ordinating  emergency transport.   She  said the government's long-term plan was to build an alternative highway connecting Tuen Mun and  Lantau.
Ms Cheung said the government would inspect  slopes along the North Lantau Highway for any possible landslide dangers.
'We will discuss with related departments  whether we need work to make slopes - not only this slope but all along the highway - safe,'  she said.



Many stranded as torrent of mud  blocks airport road for first time