Cable car crash in Hong Kong

[Scott & Lai 12]

Hong Kong cable car crashes to ground

Stuff.co.nz | Wednesday, 13 June 2007

SERVICE SUSPENDED: A cable car to Lantau's Big Buddha tourist attraction, has crashed to the ground, forcing officials to close the service.

A cable car to one of Hong Kong's biggest tourist attractions, The Big Buddha, has been closed indefinitely after a cabin plunged 50 metres to the ground.

Authorities said they were investigating the cause of the accident, which occurred on Mondy evening, an hour after the service shut for the night.

No one was injured in the incident in which the empty cable car crashed to the ground during a test run after operating hours, although the cabin narrowly missed a nearby road.

Immediately after the crash, maintenance staff members were sent to each of the system's supporting towers to examine if other cabins had plunged along the whole ropeway.

Investigators found some 10 gear wheels had been seriously damaged on the system where the cable car plunged.

The gear wheels, installed on the towers, are used to hook cable cars in place as they pass the towers.

Investigators are still trying to find out how these gears were damaged and whether the damage was related to the crash.

The Standard newspaper reported that the mishap was associated with a decision by Skyrail- ITM's senior management to boost passenger capacity during peak periods.

According to the report, it was the first time Skyrail had tried to push the motors of the "circulating bi-cable aerial ropeway" system to the fullest and unprecedented speed of seven meters per second.

"We are very concerned," a government spokesman said. "To ensure public safety, until the cause of the incident is known and we are certain that the cable car can operate safely, the government will not allow it to resume operation."

The Tian Tan Buddha is the world's tallest outdoor seated bronze Buddha and attracts around one million visitors a year.

The cable car, which traverses 5.7km of hills on the island of Lantau, is part of a major tourist complex that also includes a theatre, shops and a traditional tea house.

It is the latest in a string of projects aimed at making Hong Kong into a top holiday destination.

The cable car cost $HK1 billion (NZ$170 million) to build and took two years to complete, but has been plagued by problems.

Its launch was postponed last summer after a breakdown during testing left 500 visitors stuck in cabins for two hours.

Seven senior staff at Skyrail, the Australian company behind the project, resigned shortly before the opening citing a lack of transparency.

Hong Kong has committed billions of dollars to develop tourism facilities, including a $US3 billion (NZ$4 billion) Disneyland resort.

Lai wanted me to ride this thing the next time we go to Hong Kong..... we've changed that plan

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

I took a boat to the island and hiked to the Buddha.

[Scott & Lai 12]

I took a boat to the island and hiked to the Buddha.

We took a tour bus