As fatal Hong Kong bus crash raises transport safety questions, a survivor is ‘scarred for life’
‘I can’t even look at one, let alone get on board,’ he says after tragedy, as local expert offers advice
Every weekend for the past few years, Tsui Ma-shun tried his luck at the racecourse in Sha Tin. Living in Tai Po, he often rode the KMB route 872 bus.
But Tsui, 66, put a halt to his routine after his dramatic experience on the fatal crash of February 10, describing himself as “scarred for life” and vowing never to take any form of public transport again.
The double-decker bus Tsui boarded that evening flipped onto its side on Tai Po Road, killing 19 of his fellow passengers while injuring 66 others.
“I close my eyes every time I hear the sound of a bus,” he says. “I can’t even look at one, let alone get on board. I doubt I’ll ever take public transport ever again in my life. Not a single seat on any bus is safe.”
At the time of the accident, Tsui was sitting on the lower deck, near the exit.
“I held onto the handle bars in front of me when the bus skidded down the hill,” he recalls. “Being in that seat saved my life. Otherwise, I would have been thrown out the window.”
Tsui is not alone in being badly shaken. The tragedy raised questions about public transport safety, which many in the city appeared to have taken for granted.