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HK cable car suspended after cabin falls to ground

A cable car to one of Hong Kong's biggest tourist attractions, a giant statue of Buddha, has closed indefinitely after a cabin plunged 50m to the ground, officials said yesterday.

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

No one was injured, although the cabin narrowly missed a nearby road.

"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."

Hong Kong Secretary for Economic Development and Labour Stephen Ip said the government would bring in overseas experts to find out what went wrong.

"Unless and until we are satisfied that the system is safe, the management is capable, we will not allow the resumption of the service," he said. "Safety is the most important thing."

Tourism Board chief James Tien (田北俊) expressed "disappointment" at the accident, saying he feared it would have a negative impact on the tourism industry.

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

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

The cable car cost HK$1 billion (US$128 million) to build and took two years to complete, but has been dogged by problems.

Its launch had to be 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 the US$3 billion Disneyland resort.
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