Hong Kong’s Ocean Park urged to boost safety after second tower failure in 2 years

Hong Kong’s Ocean Park has been urged to enhance its safety measures after an ageing observation tower broke down for the second time in two years, leaving 42 people stranded 70 metres above the ground.

Lawmakers called for changes on Tuesday, a day after the incident sent firefighters rushing to the scene and caused the ride to stop working for more than two hours.

While 40 customers and a staff member were able to make their own way to the ground through a safety passage inside the tower, one woman with mobility difficulties was only able to escape after a firefighter equipped with rope-rescue gear helped lower her to safety.

Monday’s incident occurred about 18 months after a similar malfunction involving the same attraction. Last May, a fault signal triggered the ride’s safety system, leaving 17 visitors stranded for nearly two hours before they were safely brought back to the ground.

Lawmaker Mark Chong Ho-fung revealed it took the park 24 minutes to alert the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) after the ride broke down.

Chong noted that the tower was built in 1992 and said the 24-minute delay between the incident and the authorities being notified was “inefficient”.

“For facilities aged over 30 years, the park should install more sensors so whenever there is a system fault, an automatic alert is sent to the authorities, which could then respond with more manpower and greater efficiency,” Chong said.

The New Territories North West representative said older attractions should have Internet of Things (IoT) sensors with artificial intelligence (AI) features to give authorities real-time information on the condition of rides.

“Whenever there are irregular vibrations, authorities will be alerted to any possible malfunction in advance with a better rescue plan,” he said.

Another lawmaker, Christine Fong Kwok-shan, said the park should conduct more drills and checks on its high-risk facilities and ensure elevated platforms provide strong and solid anchorage.

“It’s not ideal for a firefighter to use a rope to help lower a patron to the ground. The rope must be supported by a strong anchorage point to ensure safe rescue,” she said.

Fong said the EMSD should hire a third-party auditor to ensure the park conducts more thorough checks and drills.

“Then there will be more manpower to avoid a repeat of the incident at Ocean Park. Any such incident will be bad for Hong Kong’s tourism,” she said.

The services department told the South China Morning Post on Tuesday it had asked Ocean Park to conduct a comprehensive inspection of the ride, including a review of its maintenance and repair procedures, and to submit an incident report to prevent similar incidents from recurring.

“The ride must undergo repeated testing by supervisors to ensure safety and can only resume operation after verification by EMSD personnel,” it said in a statement. “The EMSD will continue to closely monitor the operation of the Ocean Tower.”