Surveillance footage has emerged showing the heart-stopping moment when a double-decker tram toppled over in central Hong Kong.
The driver of the tram, who is 23 years old, was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of dangerous driving.
Five women and nine men including the driver were injured, with some taken to hospital, according to police.
Trams, known as ‘ding-dings’ for the sound of their bells, have serviced the city’s main island for more than a century. With around 160 cars, the tram network is the world’s largest fleet of double-decker tramcars still in operation. It costs HK$2.30 (24p) for adults and HK$1.20 (12p) for children to ride along the 120-stop route.
The incident, rare for the city’s highly efficient public transport network, occurred around midnight on Thursday local time in the city’s Central district.
A police spokesman said the driver, surnamed Lo, was being questioned. Lo is said to have been a tram driver for a year and a half.
The footage, released by Hong Kong news website Apple Daily, shows the vehicle veering to the right before toppling over on Des Voeux Road Central near the HSBC headquarters.
The tram was travelling towards Sai Wan. It remains unclear how many passengers the vehicle was carrying at the time of the accident.
Another news footage from local TV stations showed firefighters at the scene, and one person wearing an oxygen mask while being carried out of the flipped tram on a stretcher.
Images taken by an AFP photographer on site revealed the tram being turned right-side-up shortly afterwards.
Speaking to the press, Cheng Chit Fai, the Chief of Wan Chai Fire Service Department said fire brigade arrived within three minutes after the accident occurred.
The authority dispatched five fire engines, nine ambulances, 51 firefighters and medics to the scene.
Among the 11 injured passengers, 11 were were taken to the Queen Mary Hospital and Ruttonjee Hospital, according to Mr Cheng. Most of them are said to sustain scratches, and one passenger suffered neck and shoulder injuries.
It is suspected that the tram has de-railed, hit the tram station before toppling over, according to Chiu Shung Hei, the Senior inspector of Hong Kong Island Traffic Accident Investigation Division.
Mr Chiu spoke during the same press conference that the police have launched investigations on the road design and any obstacles in the tram tracks.
The police are set to confirm whether or not the tram was speeding.
In response to the claim that the tram had hit a bus, Mr Chiu said that the police are still investigating, but according to passengers on board, they hadn’t seen any bus driving around when the accident happened.
It is the second incident on Hong Kong’s public transport network this year, usually regarded among the safest and best infrastructure systems in the world, with accidents uncommon.
Seventeen people were injured in February when a fire engulfed a subway train, triggering the evacuation of Tsim Sha Tsui station — a major hub — during rush hour and causing chaos on the platform.
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