Double trouble: delayed MTR passengers detained by mainland police after their bus skips border checkpoint
Passengers were travelling on a bus hired by MTR after a burst water pipe caused lengthy delays to rail services on Thursday
Twelve MTR passengers were hit by bad luck twice in a row on Thursday, when first they were delayed by disrupted rail services due to a burst water pipe, before being detained in Shenzhen for about three hours after their bus seemingly skipped a border checkpoint.
They were among some of those who boarded a bus temporarily hired by the MTR to take passengers from Tai Po Market station to Lok Ma Chau staton, after services were delayed by the burst water pipe between Fanling and Sheung Shui stations at about 10.50am.
At about 4pm, 12 passengers who planned to cross the border found themselves already at the check point at Huanggang, Shenzhen, without passing through the immigration check on the Hong Kong side.
The gate-crashing bus was immediately spotted by mainland authorities, who detained all the people on board for an investigation.
They were held for about three hours before being allowed to return to Hong Kong at about 6.30pm.