from scmp.com
Cable car closed after cabin plunges
Empty Skyrail gondola's 50-metre fall stuns experts and critics of the troubled ride
Ngong Ping 360 was closed indefinitely last night after an empty cable car plunged 50 metres onto a slope near the waterfront in Tung Chung in the worst accident since operations began less than a year ago.
The crash happened just before 8pm, an hour after Hong Kong's latest tourist attraction was closed to the public. Skyrail-ITM, the operator of the cable car, said the cabin was "dislodged and found on the ground" during a series of tests conducted after operating hours.
The cabin fell about 50 metres from a directional changing station on the 5.7km cable journey, landing upside down on the shrub-covered waterfront near Chek Lap Kok South Road.
Stephen Ip Shu-kwan, secretary for Economic Development and Labour, said the government was concerned about the incident. It had ordered a halt to services and asked the MTR Corp to find out the cause of the accident and take all measures to ensure safety.
The area is close to a roundabout, although it sees little traffic, and is accessible to pedestrians.
The cabin, which was seriously damaged, was still lying in the shrubbery hours after the plunge. Its doors had fallen off and windows were broken. Skyrail staff examined the wreckage and looked for broken parts, which lay scattered across the site. Police and firemen went to the scene to search for anyone who may be trapped but no one was injured.
The accident sparked an uproar among lawmakers who, along with the Tourism Board condemned the company for its poor performance since the cable car began operations on September 18.
Engineers familiar with the design of cable cars described the accident as a "disaster" and "inconceivable", noting that emergency locks should automatically hold the cabin in place if the main lock failed.
Skyrail's chief executive, Bill Calderwood, said the company was investigating the accident with the Engineering and Mechanical Services Department.
Mr Calderwood said the company would not rule out any possible cause, including the weather, even though there were no serious weather conditions when the accident happened.
Andrew Cheng Kar-foo, chairman of the Legislative Council's transport panel, called for a change of operator for the HK$1 billion project, which was developed and funded by the MTR Corporation.
He was joined by Raymond Ho Chung-tai, the engineering sector lawmaker, who said the government had to rethink its choice of operator in light of the constant turmoil.
In a statement issued soon after the accident, Tourism Board chairman James Tien Pei-chun joined his fellow lawmakers in calling on Ngong Ping 360 to give the public an explanation as soon as possible.
Mr Tien said he was "very disappointed" by the accident and other incidents, such as mechanical faults, that have dogged the cable car since it came into service. He said he had asked the chairman of Legco's economic services panel to convene a special meeting to discuss the accident.
Hung Wing-tat, an associate professor of civil and structural engineering at Polytechnic University, said Skyrail needed to determine whether the problem was confined to just the one cabin or a design flaw affecting the entire system.
"It may be just a localised problem, such as a defective lock or metal fatigue, which is less alarming. If it's a system-wide fault with the locking mechanism, then it's a very major issue," Dr Hung said.
He said the incident was especially worrying because a cable car was designed and tested to withstand most weather conditions.