‘A renewed in-depth investigation is under way, including interviews with relevant personnel and review of operational logs,’ technical official says. — SCMP
Hong Kong authorities have reopened an investigation into a case in which a girl was said to have fallen into the gap between a train and a platform at the airport, after a video circulating online sparked safety concerns.
“The (Electrical and Mechanical Services Department) was unable to verify the late 2023 alleged incident, based on information submitted by the Airport Authority,” Ng Yuk-wa, the department’s technical secretary, said.
“A renewed in-depth investigation is under way, including interviews with relevant personnel and review of operational logs ... The department has requested further information from the Airport Authority to assist in this investigation.”
The child’s alleged fall was also initially determined non-reportable, but authorities decided to look into it again after the video apparently showing the fall surfaced. The authority was instructed to submit a report in a month.
Ng confirmed on Friday that authorities had earlier investigated three incidents, including the alleged fall that took place in November last year. All incidents were related to the airport’s Automated People Mover (APM) – the driverless transit system that connects various terminals and facilities within Hong Kong International Airport.
The action was taken following tipoffs from anonymous emails in January and July.
She said the cases had initially not been reported by the authority, although the two other incidents – one regarding a switch malfunction and another on sparks in the APM tunnel – “were determined not to be reportable” under current regulations.
“However, as a precaution, the department has requested the Airport Authority to carry out necessary repairs and has confirmed the safety of the relevant systems and equipment,” she added.
She also said the government had instructed the authority to “improve communication and reporting”, particularly on incidents that might not require reporting under regulations but could pose potential safety risks.
The video clip, seen by the Post, shows a girl in a pink jumper stepping onto the train.
Moments later, several adults kneel in a seemingly frantic manner trying to pull something from the gap, but it remained unclear whether it was the girl or if a fall had occurred.
The authority said in a statement that it had provided detailed information to the department in January when inquiries were made about the three incidents, which were ultimately classified as “non-reportable” under established communication protocols, and were accepted by the government.
Regarding the alleged fall, it had conducted an investigation and found no records of anyone falling, although an employee did report a passenger losing a shoe.
The authority also said that due to data protection regulations, security footage was typically retained for one month only, which led to the loss of relevant recordings from the time of the alleged incident.
The operator said the surfaced video “could not conclusively determine whether any part of the child’s body had fallen into the gap”, and that the incident had occurred in a section where the space had been narrowed from the original 13.1cm to 14.1cm down to 7.1cm to 10.1cm following optimisation works that began in July of last year.
In other sections of Terminal 1, the gap between the platform and the train doors had consistently been maintained at 2.5cm to 5cm, it added. – South China Morning Post
