Both drivers were killed and 16 passengers injured. Photo: Emily Tsang
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https://scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/2189117/fatal-citybus-crash-camera-didnt-spot-broken-down-truck Transport
Fatal Citybus crash: camera didn’t spot broken-down truck because it was pointed the other way, Hong Kong’s Western Harbour Tunnel Company says
- Staff on patrol were making rounds in another area at the time, operator adds
- Stationary truck was struck by double-decker bus, killing both drivers and injuring 16 others
The truck broke down about 500 metres from the tunnel’s Kowloon entrance. Photo: Edmond So
Lawmakers on Friday accused the Western Harbour Tunnel Company of trying to cover up its poor management after the firm said several “unfortunate” events led to a broken-down truck going unnoticed near the crossing’s entrance for 45 minutes before a fatal accident on Monday.
Democratic Party lawmaker Andrew Wan Siu-kin expressed anger over the explanations, saying legislators would not ease pressure on the company.
“It seems escaping administrative, legal and public responsibilities is more important than finding out the truth,” Wan said.
That came after the company issued a statement on Thursday night, saying that rotating security cameras were not pointing at the site of the accident that killed two and injured 16.
On Monday morning, a bus crashed into a truck that had been sitting on the road about 500 metres from the tunnel’s Kowloon entrance for about 45 minutes.
“Unfortunately, the camera was not turned to the side where the truck had the incident,” it said.
There are 151 cameras covering the tubes and the tunnel areas, of which about 70 are rotating models, according to the company.
It added that staff on patrol were making their rounds in another area at the time and did not notice the breakdown and offer help. “What is even more unfortunate, is that the traffic accident happened just before patrolling staff arrived,” it said.
The patrol area covered a total of 300,000 square metres, including 16 tunnel lanes and stretches of road totalling 13km, the company said.
The two lawmakers who head the Legislative Council’s transport panel said a special meeting could be called, which would give officials and tunnel managers a chance to explain themselves.
But panel chairman Ben Chan Han-pan of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong did not say when the meeting would take place. Chan said officials would need time to gather new information or else there would be nothing for lawmakers to discuss.
He also said he would reserve judgment on whether any of the involved parties were in the wrong, but added: “What they have said so far has not been convincing.”
Panel vice-chairman Jeremy Tam Man-ho of the Civic Party said the meeting should be called as soon as possible. “Why did [the tunnel company] not give the information on the first day? They were just trying to cover this up,” Tam said.
He also questioned whether the government had known about the flaws in the tunnel’s surveillance system.
Transport expert Dr Hung Wing-tat was also unimpressed by the company’s explanation, as he said it would only take a minute or so for the security cameras to complete one rotation.
The Transport Department has asked the tunnel company to submit a report on the incident.
The truck broke down on the second lane of the four-lane highway at about 9.30am. Shortly before 10.30am, a Route 967 Citybus double-decker slammed into the stationary vehicle from behind. Both drivers were killed, and 15 bus passengers and one truck passenger were injured.
The company said on Tuesday that a caller reported the broken-down truck at 10.12am. Its control room immediately turned on an overhead warning sign and sent a recovery vehicle to the scene, but the crash happened shortly before the vehicle arrived.
On Thursday, Commissioner for Transport Mable Chan Mei-bo said her department had requested an investigation and a report from the firm.
Chan said she hoped the firm would roll out measures to improve the road monitoring system. The department would also examine whether the company’s performance pledge on traffic surveillance and incident handling was being kept.
The company said it was considering a number of measures to ensure that such incidents could be handled in a timely fashion. These included upgrading its surveillance cameras to more efficient systems that would make scans more frequently, increasing patrol frequency, and putting up more signs with emergency contact information so drivers could notify staff about incidents.