Dicing with death in line of duty

The unimaginable has happened. There is a car bomb and the police have been alerted. The bell rings at the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bureau in Jardine's Lookout and officers scramble into their vehicles and speed to the site.

Strapped into a 28-kilogram protective suit, a bomb disposal officer strides down a deserted six-lane highway passing abandoned vehicles with one aim: assess and dismantle. This is called 'the lonely walk' - one taken nearly 150 times a year by the bureau's 10-member team.

'The aim is to be prepared, understand the risk, overcome the danger and render a safe situation,' said senior bomb disposal officer Jimmy Yuen Hon-wing who last month became the first Chinese to head the world-class bureau.

Yuen first joined the bureau in 1998 as a 'matter of interest' - it was a part-time secondary duty with the police. Four years later, the then inspector became the first full-time local Chinese with the bureau. Rising up the ranks with former bureau chief head, Dominic Brittain, the recent succession has been a controlled process.

'Dominic Brittain and I are the same age and we would have retired together in four years time,' said the affable 51-year-old. 'He chose early retirement and this was a generous move which is good for the future succession.'

For Hong Kong, the bureau is the first, last and only resort. Officers work in pairs: one deals with and disposes of the bomb while the other prepares all the equipment, controls the bomb disposal robots and provides technical support.