At least two members of Hong Kong theme park staff should have prevented death of youth at haunted house, trainer tells inquest
- Trainer says haunted house attraction was designed in a manner that at least two employees would notice and stop anyone who trod the wrong way
- Show director says the death prompted the park to revise safety rules and install more lights before similar Halloween-themed rides opened next year
Wong Man-chun, a contractual trainer at Ocean Park, said the attraction – Buried Alive – was designed as a one-way track, and the performing staff inside would stop any player who trod the wrong way.
When 21-year-old student Cheung Chiu-kit set foot on the wrong path towards the machinery parts of a slide, at least two performers along the passage should have spotted and stopped him from going further, he told the Coroner’s Court.
He said he did not inquire further about how the incident skipped the eyes of the staff, as some performers were very upset and wept “copiously” following the mishap.
This was the second day of a probe into the death on September 16, 2017, of Cheung, who was found unconscious beneath a movable slide at the Halloween-themed attraction. He was pronounced dead in hospital the same day.