HK police probe deadly bus accident

HONG KONG: Police said yesterday they were probing a bus accident that left 19 dead, with the bus driver arrested for dangerous driving.

The double-decker bus overturned on Saturday near the town of Tai Po in the New Territories, flipping onto its side and appearing to smash into a lamppost.

Police said 65 people were injured, some critically.

“The 30-year old bus driver was arrested for dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm,” police said in a statement.

Most of the injured and some of the dead were on the upper deck of the bus, Chan Hing-yu of the fire department said.

The driver was suspected of going over the speed limit as he went down a slope and lost control of the vehicle, senior traffic superintendent Lee Chi-wai said.

He was not in need of medical treatment after the crash and was found to be sober, Lee added.

The accident has reignited a debate over working conditions for the city’s bus drivers.

The vehicle was managed by the Kowloon Motor Bus Company, one of the main bus operators there.

Its “management is at fault, and it did not attach importance to traffic safety nor to the staffing structure, work and rest, and training of drivers,” Lai Siu-chung, a representative of the motor transport workers union branch at the company, said yesterday.

Lai said poor treatment of workers had led to labour shortages, adding that many drivers work under pressure and without proper support.

“The industry wages of drivers have lagged behind inflation for many years ... as a result the number of drivers working extra shifts and part-time have increased,” said lawmaker Luk Chung-hung, who also questioned if Kowloon was paying enough attention to safety. – AFP