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SCMP

This article was first published on August 26, 1976.
Tragedy hits Sau Mau Ping
At least seven people, including four children, were killed by the landslide that hit Sau Mau Ping Estate yesterday (August 25, 1976).
Yesterday’s disaster was only a few blocks away from a slope which slipped on June 18, 1972, killing 67 people.
Fire Services teams, assisted by the Army, spent the night under search lights trying to locate people still not accounted for and thought to be buried under tons of mud which engulfed half the ground floor of Block 9 — housing about 1,200 people.
The Governor, Sir Murray MacLehose, has ordered an urgent survey of slopes in the area.
Sir Murray arrived at the estate a few hours after the disaster occurred to inspect the extent of the damage and to talk to rescue workers.
He also talked to some of the affected families in the Estate Office, where about 200 people were temporarily accommodated.

Sixteen people were injured in the slip. Six were in fair condition in the United Christian Hospital in Kun Tong last night. The others were treated and discharged.
The slip occurred soon after 10 am and totally buried 10 flats at the rear of the ground floor.
Tons of mud and debris also buried people in 10 shops at the front of the block.
A housewife on the third floor said the noise of the slip was like thunder.
“My bed was rocking for a while and I thought there was an earthquake,” Mrs Chow Kwan Kit-kam said.
She added: “Babies in neighbouring flats were crying and I didn’t know what to do.
“About 15 minutes after the slip, I heard whistling from the street and saw police using loudhailers to advise tenants to evacuate the block,” she said.
“Fortunately, there was no panic among the residents and most of them were led to safety very quickly.”
Mrs Chow said she also saw a man, with blood all over his face, running from a cafe crying for help. “He was quickly given treatment by rescue workers,” she said.

The Divisional Fire Officer for East Kowloon, Mr Lee Kwok-choi, said 60 firemen and all East Kowloon’s rescue vehicles had been rushed to the scene.
“We also brought in two rescue vehicles from Tsimshatsui and Hongkong,” he added.
Mr Lee said because of traffic congestion, the vehicle from Tsimshatsui was forced to go to Hongkong through the Cross-Harbour Tunnel and then take the vehicular ferry to Kun Tong.
He also said the rescue operation was hindered by continuous rain which he feared might cause another slip.
The Chief Maintenance Surveyor of the Housing Department, Mr R.A. Bates, later inspected Block 9 and Block 15 and said they were structurally sound and safe.
Tenants on the fourth floor and above in Block 9 and those on the second floor and above in Block 15 were advised not to return to their flats last night.
Those whose flats were buried, and tenants of the two blocks who preferred to stay away were given temporary accommodation in a Kowloon Bay factory estate.
The Social Welfare Department’s Emergency Relief Team distributed hot meals and other necessities to the affected families.
Operators of about 30 food and hawking stalls in a single-storey market building on top of the slope were ordered to remove their possessions last night and a Housing Department spokesman said the market will be demolished very soon for safety reasons.
Other precautionary measures included the emptying of a 1,000-gallon fuel tank close to the edge of the slope and the trimming back of the damaged slope.

A spokesman for the Home Affairs Department last night praised the Mutual Aid Committees and kaifong members for their good work in rendering assistance to tenants affected by the landslide.
As soon as news of the disaster reached them, members of MACs in Blocks 3, 10, 15 and 17 rushed to the scene and helped the injured and other tenants to move debris and mud.
Some members escorted injured people to the United Christian Hospital in private cars before ambulances arrived. Others remained at the scene to help in evacuation work.
“Many committee members and kaifongs continued to give a helping hand to their neighbours in the rain the whole day. They have vividly demonstrated good citizenship,” the spokesman said.


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The heavy rainfall-induced landslide occurred just four years after another fatal landslide in the area


The heavy rainfall-induced landslide occurred just four years after another fatal landslide in the area.


From our archives

Housing Department

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The heavy rainfall-induced landslide occurred just four years after another fatal landslide in the area

Tragedy hits Sau Mau Ping

The heavy rainfall-induced landslide occurred just four years after another fatal landslide in the area