'Flying Tigers' hurt in training helicopter plunge

Two officers from the 'Flying Tigers' police unit were injured when they fell eight metres from a helicopter during an anti-terrorist exercise at Kai Tak yesterday.

One of the officers, surnamed Ho, 25, was admitted to hospital in stable condition while his colleague, surnamed Lee, 27, was in satisfactory condition at Queen Elizabeth Hospital last night.

Officers of the Special Duties Unit, known as the Flying Tigers, were aboard a Black Hawk helicopter engaged in an anti-terrorist exercise shortly after 2.30 am.

The helicopter hovered about eight metres above the ground near the airport terminal as Ho and Lee, who were among a group lowering themselves from the helicopter with ropes, reportedly lost their grip and fell to the ground.

Ho was rushed to hospital by a vehicle from the unit which was inside the airport, while Lee, who appeared to be in a more serious condition, was taken to hospital by ambulance, a police source said.

No one at the unit would provide further information on the two injured officers, except to say that they were injured during a routine exercise.

In 1987, a policeman suffered brain damage after he was shot by a plastic bullet mistakenly loaded in a gun used in an anti-terrorist training exercise.