Authorities have ordered the operator of Hong Kong airport to step up safety measures for its driverless trains after a child stepped into the gap between the platform and a carriage last year but was quickly pulled out by other passengers.
The Airport Authority said that while it had found no evidence of a cover-up of the accident by staff, it had taken disciplinary action against the relevant staff for not being alert enough to report the incident in time and document it properly.
The government, which said it was highly concerned about the accident, announced on Monday that it had finished a review of an investigation report and related supplementary information submitted by the authority.
The incident took place in November last year when a girl, said to be about five or six years old, reportedly stepped into the gap at a platform while boarding a train of the airport's automated people mover (APM).
An authority investigation found that the girl was immediately pulled out of the gap by other passengers. The train's operation was not interrupted and carriage doors closed as scheduled. The safety mechanism was not triggered.
The authority did not receive a complaint or injury report filed by the girl's family.
The incident only came to light following media reports earlier this year.
In its investigation report, the authority "found no evidence of a cover-up of the incident by any staff", the government said.
"That said, the [authority] admitted that there was lack of clarity in the APM Operation and Emergency Procedure Manual, and a lack of alertness in reporting and communication among the frontline staff concerned, resulting in the incident not being properly recorded at that time," it added.
"Therefore, the relevant staff … failed to identify the incident in time and report it to the government."
The government said it was "highly concerned" about the incident and had "seriously requested" the authority to implement a series of improvement measures to prevent a recurrence of similar incidents.
The measures included updating the emergency procedure manual and enhancing staff training to sharpen their awareness in handling and recording incidents.
Among other measures, the authority is to appoint a dedicated department to coordinate investigations and follow-up actions in case of incidents related to APM passenger safety "to ensure all future incidents or potential incidents would be investigated in a thorough and comprehensive manner".
The authority was also asked to enhance the CCTV set-up at the platform to cover more viewing angles.
The government said it noted that the authority had updated the emergency procedure manual and would offer training to staff next month to strengthen the incident notification mechanism.
It also noted that the authority would complete the enhancement of CCTV systems at platforms by March next year.
The government said it would closely monitor the authority's progress of implementation of the measures.
The authority, meanwhile, completed a project to narrow the gap between the platform and the trains in June this year.
"The [Electrical and Mechanical Services Department] has also confirmed that the APM system is safe in its design and operation, and that the … narrowing of the platform gap and enhancement of the CCTV system will help prevent the recurrence of similar incidents," the government said.
