Nineteen passengers injured as bus and train collide in HK

[Windsorlou]

Nineteen passengers injured as bus and train collide in Tuen Mun

PUBLISHED : Saturday, 22 November, 2014, 4:36am
UPDATED : Saturday, 22 November, 2014, 4:36am

Lai Ying-kit [email protected]

Nineteen people were taken to hospital after the light rail train and a double-decker bus were involved in a collision in Tuen Mun yesterday. Photo: SCMP pictures

Nineteen people were injured after an MTR light rail train and a double-decker bus collided in Tuen Mun yesterday, the second similar accident in three weeks.

Seventeen passengers onboard the train suffered minor injuries and were taken to hospital. The two drivers were trapped in their vehicles for a while and had to be freed by firemen before being taken to hospital.

The accident happened at about 2.10pm when the route 507 train was leaving the Tuen Mun ferry pier terminus bound for Tin King.

As it reached the junction of Wu Chui Road, it collided with the route K52 bus that was heading to MTR's Tuen Mun station, said the MTR Corporation, which operates the rail system.

The impact of the collision pushed the front part of the train off the tracks and crushed the front of both vehicles.

A witness told local media that the bus was trying to beat a red light at the junction.

The MTR Corporation said it was investigating the cause of the accident with police.

Adi Lau Tin-shing, the MTR Corporation's deputy director of operations, said the company would look into whether speeding or an attempt to beat traffic lights played a part in the "serious" accident.

"Our investigations will cover our colleagues' operations," Lau said after inspecting the scene where scores of MTR workers were involved in clearing the debris.

The driver of the train has one year's driving experience while the bus driver has five years' experience, the company said.

Lau said the railway operator would submit a report to the government when its investigation was completed.

Train services between Tuen Mun ferry pier and Goodview Garden - involving four stops — were suspended for almost three hours. Three light rail routes - 507, 614 and 614P - were temporarily diverted to terminate at Sam Shing instead of the pier.

The MTR deployed free shuttle buses to carry passengers between Tuen Mun ferry pier and Sam Shing stops.

On November 6, a driver had to be freed from his truck by firefighters and was treated in hospital for head injuries after his vehicle ploughed into an MTR light rail train and a double-decker bus at the junction of Tsing Wun Road and Hing Choi Street in Tuen Mun. No one else was injured in that accident.