Hong Kong tourist bus driver dies in early morning crash as heavy rain pounds city
- Vehicle hit tree in Sheung Shui just after 6am when red rainstorm warning was in effect
- Police say 33-year-old man was found unconscious outside bus with serious injuries
A Hong Kong driver died after his tourist bus slammed into a tree and then toppled onto one side as heavy rain pounded the city on Monday.
The crash took place on the Kwu Tung section of Castle Peak Road outside the North District Equestrian Events Memorial Garden in Sheung Shui at about 6.18am.
The Hong Kong Observatory issued a red rainstorm warning at 5.55am, meaning more than 50mm of rain had been recorded within an hour and the downpour was likely to continue. At 8.20am, the alert was upgraded to the highest level, a black rainstorm warning, which remained in place for almost three hours.
According to a police spokeswoman, the driver lost control of the vehicle on the wet road. The bus had no passengers, she said.
Emergency personnel found the 33-year-old driver unconscious outside the vehicle, suffering serious injuries.
He was taken to the nearby North District Hospital and declared dead at 7.16am.
In the first five months of this year, 35 people died and 732 suffered serious injuries in 752 road accidents across the city. In the whole of last year, 97 people died in 96 fatal traffic accidents.
