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Nikki Sun

A child lost a toe after getting his foot trapped in a 220-metre escalator at Ocean Park, raising questions about safety rules.
The accident happened when the left rubber shoe of the three-year-old boy became stuck between the steps and side skirt panel of the downward escalator in Adventure Land.
Mainland Chinese tourist plunges 11 metres to his death in Ocean Park accident
His pregnant mother was forced to drag him free in an attempt to prevent further injury.
As a result of the accident, the boy, now four, had a toe amputated, two others permanently disfigured and suffered emotional damage.
His grandfather, Choi, said on Sunday most escalators would stop automatically in such cases, but this one did not.
He also claimed park staff were slow to react last September, with one employee insisting he carry the boy to a first aid station – 500 metres from the scene – for initial assessment instead of calling the emergency services immediately. In the end, two tourists helped carry his bleeding grandson.
Choi said Ocean Park, a fully owned subsidiary of the government, offered HK$100,000 as settlement in a confidentiality agreement. However this was rejected because the family wanted an investigation into why the escalator failed to stop, a formal apology and more compensation.
“Many kids grow up there. What if it happened to a second child?” Choi asked.
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An Ocean Park spokeswoman denied it had tried to stop the family from disclosing the incident.
She said the HK$100,000 was offered as an emergency payment on an ex gratia basis and was no indication that the park admitted responsibility.
All safety devices were verified as working properly in compliance with standard requirements following an inspection by experts, she added.
Furthermore, the park had asked the service provider of the escalator to conduct more safety assessments and to submit suggestions regarding added safety improvements.
The incident has highlighted the need to revise the relevant legislation, which does not require escalator operators to update the machines according to the latest safety standards.
Escalators are fitted with motion sensors that should ensure an escalator stops automatically if it detects objects are caught or stuck, but sensor numbers vary according to the age of the machine concerned.
First built in 1984, the outdoor escalator at Ocean Park is the second longest of its kind in the city and a popular attraction.
Lawmaker James To Kun-sun, who has been assisting the Choi family, said the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department claimed the safety devices on the 32-year-old machine were in compliance with safety regulation made in 1983, which did not specify the number of motion sensors that had to be installed.
Safety standards updated in 2012 required operators to install sensors in a proportion based on the ratio and length of the escalator concerned.
The escalator at Ocean Park had only two motion sensors installed at the top and the bottom, according to the lawmaker.
To said, according to the latest safety standards, at least 75 sensors should be installed on each side of the machine.
He said current legislation did not require operators to upgrade escalators to comply with the latest standards.
“We need to update our legislation and also require Ocean Park to observe [the changes] even if the legislation has not yet been updated,” education lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen said, especially as the park was a public institution fully funded by the government.
“We should keep the highest level of safety and that should be updated for all escalators,” Ip said.
This was particularly true at a facility popular with children.
There were 1,590 escalator-related incidents reported in the city last year. However the case involving Choi’s grandson was the only one involving serious injuries, the department said.


Boy, 3, loses toe in Ocean Park escalator nightmare

Choi speaks about the accident involving his grandson on an Ocean Park escalator. Photo: Sam Tsang

News

Hong Kong

Education

Victim was allegedly offered HK$100,000 to keep quiet about accident that led to amputation and exposed outdated safety legislation
