John

Hong Kong’s newest tourist attraction, the Ngong Ping 360 cable car has been forced to shut down indefinitely after a 2-tonne cabin broke free and plunged 50m to the ground yesterday.
The attraction was closed to the public an hour earlier and was empty when it dropped, landing in the undergrowth on Lantau Island.
The 5.7 km ride which carries thousands of people a day had been experiencing technical problems and was apparently undergoing a testing procedure when it plummeted to the ground.
Opened in September last year the ride will now be closed for a month of longer as overseas experts hired by the Government investigate the cause of the accident.
"We are talking about safety," Hong Kong Economic Development Secretary Stephen Ip said.
"Unless and until we are satisfied that the system is safe and the management is capable, we will not allow the resumption of the service."
Hong Kong Tourism Board Chairperson James Tien has called for preliminary findings to be issued as soon as possible to lessen the impact on visitor’s confidence.
"We can't wait for weeks … It would certainly affect the confidence of overseas visitors if this issue is left for too long."
Following the incident, the HKTB immediately suspended overseas promotion of the cableway service both locally and overseas, and has issued a circular to travel trade partners recommending they revise tour itineraries. Updated information has also been made available on the HKTB website.
The company behind Ngong Ping 360 has also launched its own investigation to run in conjunction with the Government’s enquiry.
"It's early days, and there's a lot of investigation to do to find out what caused this," Chief Executive Skyrail, Bill Calderwood.
The attraction has been marred by a series of technical problems since its opening where passengers have been stranded for up to two hours due to mechanical issues. It had been closed for four days for maintenance checks last week.




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