Nine tunnellers have been injured in two separate fire and blasting incidents in Hong Kong.
In the most serious, eight people were injured, four seriously, after an explosion in one of the tunnels being built as part of the Strategic Sewage Disposal Scheme. A further 32 tunnellers who were working in the tunnel escaped injury, although evacuation of the tunnel took more than an hour because only one rescue bucket could be used.
The blast occurred in mid-December as a Nepalese worker was cutting through a section of pipe in a tunnel to form a grouting tube for a TBM using an oxyacetylene torch. The tunnel was being constructed by a Paul Y/Seli JV in Chai Wan on the eastern side of Hong Kong Island.
An initial investigation showed that the blast was caused by a ‘flash over’, where a cloud of inflammable gas ignites, although industry insiders believed a build-up of methane was responsible. The gas cylinders being used by the tunnel worker were undamaged by the explosion.
The tunnel is part of a 25km sewer network being built across Hong Kong and Kowloon. The project has been dogged by tunnel cave-ins, equipment breakdowns and contractual disputes.
Drainage Services Department (DSD) spokesman Robin Lee said that the latest incident would not delay completion of the Paul Y/Seli drive and the TBM had not been damaged. The incident is being investigated by Paul Y/Seli; DSD; the local fire department; and Labour Department officials.
In the second incident, one tunnel worker was slightly injured when a fire broke out in early January this year inside a rail tunnel being built by Japanese contractor Nishimatsu on Hong Kong Island. A further 38 workers either escaped or were rescued.
The 4.9km tunnel is being built to provide a link between Quarry Bay and North Point stations to relieve congestion on the Mass Transit Railway Corporation‘s Island Line.
The blaze is believed to have started as a group of workers heated waterproofing material. The fire caused thick smoke to billow out from the tunnel site, which led to the suspension of rail services for more than an hour and the temporary closure of Quarry Bay Station.
