Eighteen dead, more than 60 injured in ‘chaotic’ Hong Kong double-decker bus crash

South China Morning Post ^ | Saturday, 10 February, 2018, 7:20pm

[BenLurkin]

Fifteen men and three women were confirmed dead at the scene, while 61 injured passengers were rushed to 12 public hospitals across the city. Ten were fighting for their lives in hospital while 15 were in a serious condition.

The city’s leader, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor visited the victims in hospital and announced that the government would set up an independent committee, chaired by a judge, to investigate bus safety.

...

Senior police superintendent Li Chi-wai, of New Territories North, said the force suspected that the driver was “speeding when driving down a slope, lost control” and then the double-decker “turned over on its left”.

Li said officers would investigate the driver’s psychological state at the time of the accident, the speed the bus was travelling and whether it had any mechanical issues.

He added that the driver had not been under the influence of alcohol and had not needed any medical help. The exact cause of the crash was not clear, but according to eyewitness accounts, the route 872 bus was on its way from Sha Tin racecourse to Tai Po Centre when it flipped onto its side while negotiating a turn on Tai Po Road, near Tsung Tsai Yuen. Passengers suggested the bus was speeding downhill at the time, and the driver appeared to be upset after he was told off for being late.

[trisham]

Yikes.

[neverevergiveup]

“flipped onto its side while negotiating a turn”

This is horrible. I hope those who have survived recover completely without permanent injuries.

I just don't trust these double decker buses. Just seems too liable to be top heavy.

[fieldmarshaldj]

RIP.

[Zhang Fei]

These things must be a bear to drive because of how top heavy they are. Because of its hilly terrain, Hong Kong was thought to be a wasteland by its Chinese rulers, and ceded to Britain after the Anglo-Chinese War, pretty much as an inside joke among the Chinese mandarins who negotiated the deal (kind of like us handing over Camden NJ as war reparations). My tourist’s impression is that Hong Kong is way more hilly than San Francisco, whereas double deckers are most at home on flat terrain like London’s.

[Hawthorn]

>> I just don’t trust these double decker buses <<

Years ago I rode in one of these buses while on a visit to an outer island that is under Hong Kong’s jurisdiction.

It definitely was a scary experience — so much so that I vowed, “Never again.”

[Hawthorn]

Ho hum. Really nothing new for Hong Kong:

“The accident was the deadliest since 2003, when 21 people were killed after a double-decker bus plunged off a Tuen Mun flyover following a collision with a container truck.

“In 2008, a speeding bus careered out of control at a Sai Kung roundabout, leaving 18 people dead and 44 injured.”

[xrmusn]

Ho hum. Really nothing new for Hong Kong:
= = = = = = = = = =
Is the Hong Kong bus the same as the Indian Railway trains with more people riding outside than inside and the overcrowded Ferry boats throughout the world?

When I first went to Japan in 57 we were told the Taxi Drivers were washed out Kamikaze Pilots with bad vision and couldn’t pass the psyche test to be a K Pilot..

I used to claim I was sane because I successfully got accepted into Submarine School (later dropped out medically).

Took me a while to figure that those tests were to prove one was CRAZY enough to sink a perfectly good ship, jump out of a perfectly sound aircraft or swim 50 miles with full packs etc etc

[BobL]

Sorry to hear about your mental state (LOL, and thanks for your service).

No, it’s not as bad as India-people don’t get to ‘hang out’, but like others imply, it’s probably best to use single-level buses once outside the urban areas of Hong Kong.