‘Communication problem’ led to Hong Kong police officer telling paramedics there were no injuries in MTR station on night seven people were hurt, fire service says
- Backup ambulance crew arrived at station after midnight but officer standing guard at exit E said no one was injured; they waited there for 15 minutes
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A police officer told paramedics arriving at a Hong Kong metro station that there were no injured people inside although seven had been hurt, but fire service chiefs and the force said on Thursday the incident arose from a communication problem and did not affect rescue operations.
“It is impossible for us to leave the scene without taking good care of injured citizens,” deputy chief fire officer Derek Armstrong Chan said, brushing aside accusations the authorities had hidden injury numbers.
“We did not see anyone die that night. This is an assurance the Fire Services Department gives to Hong Kong citizens.”
Seven people had been found injured, not 10 as initially counted by ambulance crews, sparking online allegations three had died and that officials had something to hide.
While protesters and their supporters have accused police of indiscriminately beating innocent commuters, the force has been adamant that it only went after rampaging radicals who had changed out of their signature black clothes and were pretending to be regular passengers.
The department first received reports about injuries in the station at 11.07pm. A paramedic arrived at 11.17pm, reaching the platform after 13 minutes following coordination with police and the railway company.
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It took 13 minutes to enter because he arrived at exit B1, which was shut as the MTR had closed the station amid chaotic scenes, including vandalism.
According to Chan, backup arrived at 12.15am but a police officer standing guard at exit E said no one was injured. The ambulancemen were allowed in after 15 minutes after the officer checked with others.
Deputy chief ambulance officer Tsang Man-ha said police at exit E had more than once told paramedics there were no injuries inside. She said officers on the ground might not have had the full picture of the situation and had promised a review.
“It was a communication problem. After coordination, police let us enter at [12.30am],” Chan said, adding officers did not check their identity cards as had been suggested online, asking only for their rank.
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“But that did not delay our treatment of the injured. A batch of 18 firefighters, who were at the platform to handle an arson case at 11.01pm, were still at the scene with the paramedic taking care of the patients. Ten of the firefighters were qualified first responders.”
Speaking at a separate press conference, police public relations head John Tse Chun-chung admitted an officer on cordon duty had told paramedics there were no injuries.
Tse called the incident a communication issue and said there was no “bad intentions” on the officer’s part to delay medical help for protesters.
“[He] replied to the ambulancemen like that simply because of what he was able to observe,” Tse said, adding that the officer from his position did not see anyone injured.
Tse said the ambulancemen were allowed in at 12.30am, after the officer spoke with others.
Pan-democrat lawmaker Claudia Mo Man-ching, who on Wednesday released a written transcript of exchanges between the paramedics on site and fire services’ control centre that night, said she appreciated the sincerity and honesty shown by the department in its press conference.
But she also urged it to consider fully disclosing the entire audio and written dialogue records to clear up any remaining doubts.
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On the injury count, Tsang reiterated the ambulance officer could have got it wrong as the situation was chaotic.
Nip Yuen-fung, chairman of the Hong Kong Fire Services Department Staffs General Association, urged members of the public not to believe ungrounded rumours as firefighters and paramedics were there to protect everyone, regardless of political view.
“Our jobs are not as simple and easy as people think, that includes counting the injured,” Nip said.
