Hong Kong tram derails outside Old Bank of China Building in Central
Hong Kong Tramways says it is investigating how the incident happened; meanwhile a truck flips over in Hung Hom, causing traffic chaos
In twin accidents on Sunday afternoon, a tram was unexpectedly derailed in Central and a truck flipped over in Hung Hom, causing traffic chaos in the area.
The tram was travelling eastbound to Happy Valley. After passing the Old Bank of China Building off Chater Garden, it suddenly swung right and came off the tracks.
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The police said no one was hurt in the incident and only tram lanes had to be closed.
“It was a nice and steady turn,” said 31-year-old Justin Yeung Yuen-wai, who was on the upper deck of the tram with his girlfriend Karen Yuen Ching-lam, 27, when the incident happened five minutes into their journey.
“No one was screaming. It was nice and normal until the tram started swinging a bit more to the right and people realised it had derailed.
“I didn’t realise it was turning the wrong way. I was expecting it to go in the right direction.
“I’m grateful that the tram didn’t topple over ... I think the driver must have been quite shocked.”
According to Yeung, the tram smelled of “burning” when they got on it at the Hang Seng Bank head office in Central at around 4.25pm.
Yeung said the tram was not very crowded at the time and passengers were mostly seated on the upper deck.
But Yuen had different feelings about the incident, saying she felt scared. She said she just wanted to get off the tram as soon as possible, but her boyfriend and many other passengers were busy grabbing the opportunity to take pictures.
“Obviously growing up knowing how a tram works, it’s always on the track. Suddenly, it was turning. It’s not something I was expecting.
“It wasn’t really fast. The turn was alright. It felt it was on the track. But the track didn’t exist ... The bottom of the tram was hitting the concrete. There were unusual sounds and people started wondering what was happening.”
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Yuen said she would still travel on trams in future because she understood tram accidents were not frequent and no one was hurt.
A spokeswoman for Hong Kong Tramways said they were still investigating why the tram derailed. She said the vehicle was being sent to Whitty Street depot for a detailed inspection.
Separately, key roads near Hung Hom experienced severe traffic jams on Sunday afternoon after a truck crashed on Chatham Road North, taking down a lamp post and road dividers.
The lamp post fell on a taxi driving in the opposite direction. The taxi driver suffered neck pains and a passenger injured his hand. They were conscious when they were sent to Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
The crash, which caused part of Chatham Road North to be closed, happened at around 2.45pm as the truck was passing Bulkeley Street.
A police spokeswoman said both the truck driver, who was not injured, and the taxi driver passed breathalyser tests.
