At least 21 people died and 20 were injured yesterday in the worst road accident in Hong Kong's history.
A northbound double-decker bus careered off the Tuen Mun Road near Ting Kau Bridge at about 6:30 am, smashed through safety barriers and plunged 35 metres into an adjacent hill slope.
The 265M KMB (Kowloon Motor Bus) bus, carrying 40 passengers, was en route to Tin Shui Wai from Kwai Chung, when it was in collision with a container lorry.
The bus apparently landed on its front which was ripped open. Some passengers were thrown out of the vehicle, while most were trapped inside.
Nineteen passengers were found dead when 200 policemen, firemen and paramedics arrived.
One injured passenger and the bus driver were certified dead in hospital, while two men and a woman remain in critical condition.
Fourteen others, seven men and seven women, are in a serious condition, while the remaining three, including a nine-year-old girl, are reported to be stable.
Informed of the accident, central government leaders conveyed messages of condolences to the victims and their families through Gao Siren, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the special administrative region. Central government will offer assistance in treating the injured if necessary.
Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa visited the crash scene three hours after the accident. Expressing his deep shock and grief, he ordered all departments concerned to carry out exhaustive investigations into the tragedy and every effort to prevent similar accidents from occurring again.
(China Daily July 11, 2003)
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