Passenger got on to high-speed rail tracks and escaped through emergency exit, evading immigration clearance into Hong Kong, city’s legislature told
- Lawmaker questions security at West Kowloon terminus and accuses MTR of cover-up after incident which happened in early December comes to light
- Transport chief says man missed his stop at Shenzhen North but handed himself in to police after leaving station through emergency exit
A passenger on Hong Kong’s high-speed rail from mainland China gained access to the tracks at the West Kowloon terminus, escaped through an emergency exit and evaded immigration clearance, it was revealed on Wednesday.
It prompted a lawmaker to question the station’s security and whether the embattled rail operator had covered up the incident, which took place in early December. The revelation came at an already sensitive time as many of Hong Kong’s first confirmed cases of the deadly coronavirus had entered the city via the high-speed rail, which was closed on January 30.
The incident was revealed to the Legislative Council on Wednesday after Jeremy Tam Man-ho from the opposition Civic Party submitted an inquiry to the government in February after learning of the case from an MTR Corporation staff member earlier.
In a written reply to Legco, Secretary for Transport and Housing Frank Chan Fan said the mainland Chinese passenger had boarded a train at Changsha South station.
“As far as we know, the passenger intended to travel to Shenzhen North station, [but] forgot to alight,” he said.
Chan said the passenger left the train but entered the track area and walked “for a period of time”.
“He eventually left the railway premises through an emergency exit of one of the ventilation buildings and turned himself in to police.”