Bunny Lau, 29, a staff member at a nearby bakery, said she noticed the tree start to sag as she served a customer at about 2.30pm and that it was luck that passers-by were not injured.

“I didn’t see the moment it fell down – it was only after I heard a large ‘boom’ that I saw it had already fallen,” she said.

She added just before the tree fell, the side of the street where it collapsed was packed with pedestrians, with some almost being hit.

Lau said the noise was so loud that the store’s baker at the back of the shop also heard it. The tree also crushed a traffic light.

“I was worried about walking on the street where the tree fell before … a lot of the trees here are very old and they sway when there is a typhoon,” she said.

Hong Kong bus driver, passenger escape serious injury in tree fall

Dominic Ngai, who uses Haiphong Road every day as he uses the nearby Pacific Club, was on the street at the time, but did not see the incident.

“I was already worried about these trees before the collapse … they are crooked and the authorities may not be willing to cut them as they may be old and valuable trees,” he said.

The Bentley driver complained of chest pain and was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Yau Ma Tei for treatment.

The road was packed with curious onlookers – and confused tourists – after the tree fell.

Police officers diverted visitors to exits between nearby buildings and Kowloon Park.

The force said the Tree Management Office had been told about the incident.

Experts told the Post the tree, which was planted on a slope was a candlenut tree, commonly found on roadsides and was estimated to be more than 30 years old.

The Architectural Services Department told the Post the fallen tree had a regular tree risk assessment on April 14.

There were no signs of decay on the branches, trunk, or root surface of the tree, and no sign of fungal or insect damage was found.

It added that the initial inspection found there was internal decay at the base of the tree and the recent unstable weather and continuous heavy rain caused the tree to fall.

“In order to ensure public safety, the department has completed the preliminary re-examination of nearby trees and believes that their condition is stable, the department said.

“We will arrange further detailed re-examination as soon as possible to carry out the necessary tree care work and ensure the health of the trees.”

Professor Jim Chi-yung, an arboricultural expert at the Education University of Hong Kong, said construction of the adjacent Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre terrace was the major reason the tree fell.

“A great amount of building materials were put into the soil of the slope and have cut off air and water supply to the trees planted there and damaged their roots,” he said.

Describing the fall as a sudden snapping of the trunks without any warning signs, Jim said the driver was “extremely lucky”.

Pedestrians might be hurt if a similar situation happened again, he warned.

“I think the government should consider demolishing the terrace,” he said. “You may call me a bit extreme, but it is about time to correct the wrong.”

Ken So Kwok-yin, director of the Conservancy Association and a certified tree worker, said internal decay of a tree was not easy to judge from its appearance alone, and it was possible no extensive examination was carried out before.

Hong Kong runs a two-tier tree risk management system, under which dead trees, trees with disease, old and valuable trees, stonewall trees and those with trunks over 75cm (30 inches) diameter require individual assessment, while a group inspection is only needed for the others.

“It is hard to say worry or not at this stage. We need to know more about what has been done first before coming up with a conclusion,” So said, adding most trees planted in the area were camphor trees, which were suitable for slopes.

The affected section of the road is still closed in the evening, but the rest of the road was reopened to traffic at about 4pm.

Additional reporting by Willa Wu