Three lifts found with worn-out components after crash prompts citywide inspection

Lifts in Tuen Mun and Cheung Sha Wan showed ‘relatively serious’ wear and tear in suspension cables or traction sheave grooves

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Two passengers were badly hurt after a lift at Waterside Plaza in Tsuen Wan failed to stop and crashed into the top floor of the building. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 9:33am, 25 Apr 2018Updated: 9:33am, 25 Apr 2018

Three lifts in Tuen Mun and Cheung Sha Wan were found to have components worn out to a “relatively serious level” during special checks conducted in wake of an incident in Tsuen Wan that left two passengers critically injured.

The inspection ordered by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department covered all lifts from the former Dong Yang Elevator firm, which manufactured the model involved in a crash at Block 2 of Waterside Plaza, Tsuen Wan on April 8.

A couple was critically injured after the lift they were going up in failed to stop and crashed into the top floor of the 46-storey block. The department said soon after the incident that insufficient traction between a sheave and the suspension cables was the likely cause.

After the incident, the department asked all registered lift contractors responsible for the maintenance of models from the same brand to complete a special inspection within two weeks. The inspection covered 384 lifts by Dong Yang, a South Korean firm later taken over by German multinational thyssenkrupp. The department carried out its own random checks.

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A total of 373 lifts – excluding the one in the Waterside Plaza crash and 10 others undergoing modernisation works – were examined, including associated equipment such as traction systems, suspension ropes and braking systems.

The department confirmed that the associated equipment was all in safe working order.