Firefighters rescue trapped truck driver, passengers after vehicle plunges down slope on Hong Kong’s Lantau Island
- Emergency personnel rushed to Tung Chung Road near the junction with South Lantau Road in Cheung Sha following accident soon after 11.30am
- Driver, injured passengers were taken to North Lantau Hospital; officers from the New Territories South traffic unit are investigating the case
A truck driver and two passengers were trapped in their vehicle and had to be freed by firefighters after it crashed through railings and plunged down a slope on Hong Kong’s Lantau Island on Wednesday.
Emergency personnel were called in when the truck crashed 10 metres down the slope and overturned off Tung Chung Road near the junction with South Lantau Road in Cheung Sha soon after 11.30am.
“A 60-year-old passenger was unconscious and trapped in the vehicle. The driver, 60, and the other passenger, 30, were also unable to climb out as they failed to open the door,” a police spokesman said.
He said railings over an eight-metre stretch were damaged in the crash.
Firefighters had to scale down the slope to rescue the trio.
The passenger had regained consciousness before he was taken to Princess Margaret Hospital for treatment. The other two were sent to North Lantau Hospital for treatment shortly before 12.30pm.
Officers from the New Territories South traffic unit are investigating the cause of the incident.
Police figures for the first two months of this year show 209 people suffered serious injuries in 207 road accidents in the city.
In the first two months of this year, 16 people died in 16 fatal traffic accidents. In the whole of 2020, 97 people died in 96 road accidents.
