Remarks by S for S at media session on No. 5 alarm fire in Tai Po
The Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung; the Acting Commissioner of Police, Mr Kan Kai-yan; the Director of Fire Services, Mr Andy Yeung; the Deputy Director of Fire Services (Operations), Mr Derek Armstrong Chan; and the Regional Commander of New Territories North, Ms Lam Man-han, met the media today (November 28) on the No. 5 alarm fire in Tai Po. Following are their remarks at the media session:
Reporter: Can you tell us whether there is gonna be any compensation for the residents? A lot of them right now thinking about how they can get... (inaudible). Secondly, can you give us an update on the corruption investigation regarding the construction company?
Secretary for Security: First of all, investigation regarding any corruption allegation or investigations will be done by the ICAC (Independent Commission Against Corruption). Secondly, you talked about compensation. About financial assistance to all the victims and their families, our Government has different schemes to support their families. I also understand that a lot of private organisations are also organising it. As a matter of fact, Secretary Alice Mak (Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs) and Secretary Chris Sun (Secretary for Labour and Welfare) will hold a separate press conference later to elaborate on all the financial assistance and other kinds of assistance that we can offer to the victims and their families.
Reporter: It has been three days after the fire, why isn't there any basic demographic of the deceased or the injured as you already got the information and condition of the people? Why don't you release them to the public?
Secretary for Security: Thank you very much. In fact we are releasing the information right now. As a matter of fact, for the time being, there are 128 diseased individuals that we discovered, including 108 bodies we removed from the scene and four who passed away in the hospital. There are 16 burned bodies that are still inside the building. In fact, our Police, as a special team, they are going to deal with all the missing persons or identities of the deceased. Maybe we can repeat the phone number. You can make a call with the phone number.
Acting Commissioner of Police: We have set up a Casualty Enquiry Unit and a hotline. The hotline number is 1878 999, 1878 999. Thank you.
Reporter: (Inaudible)
Secretary for Security: I think we need time to get all the details. As I said, even some of the deceased we cannot fully identify. At an appropriate time, when we gather all the information, we are happy to release all the information that the public is concerned about. There is nothing the Government is unwilling to release.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the remarks.)
Employers, contractors and employees should be aware of electrical safety at work during rainstorms
As the rainstorm warning has been issued by the Hong Kong Observatory, the Labour Department (LD) reminds employers and contractors that they should adopt necessary work arrangements and take suitable safety measures to protect the safety of their employees when they are carrying out electrical work or handling electrical plant.
A spokesman for the LD said today (March 3) that employers and contractors should avoid assigning employees to carry out electrical work (such as electric arc welding work) or handle electrical plant at places affected by rainstorms, and should refer to the "Code of Practice in Times of Adverse Weather and 'Extreme Conditions'" and the "Guide on Safety at Work in times of Inclement Weather" issued by the LD.
Even if electrical work is carried out or electrical plant is handled at places not affected by a rainstorm, suitable safety measures must still be adopted to prevent an electric shock as the air would be more humid. Such measures include:
(i) Ensure that all live parts of an electrical installation are isolated from the power supply source and rendered dead, and the isolation from the power supply source must be maintained as long as electrical work is being carried out;
(ii) Before carrying out any electrical work or handling any electrical plant, cut off and lock out the power supply source, then test the circuit concerned to confirm that it is dead and display suitable warning notices, and issue a work permit thereafter;
(iii) Ensure that protective devices (such as suitable and adequate fuses and circuit breakers) for the electrical installations or electrical plant have been installed and maintained in good working order, and portable electric tools must be double-insulated or properly earthed;
(iv) Provide suitable personal protective equipment such as insulating gloves and insulating mats for employees; and
(v) If live electrical work is unavoidable, a comprehensive risk assessment should be conducted by a competent person and the appropriate safety precautions should be taken to remove or properly control the electrical hazards involved before such work can proceed.
In addition, employees should co-operate with the employer or contractor to follow the safety instructions and use the safety equipment provided.
The LD has published guidebooks and leaflets on electrical work safety. These safety publications are available free from divisional offices of the department or can be downloaded from its website (www.labour.gov.hk/eng/public/content2_8.htm).
Should there be any questions about occupational safety and health matters, please contact the Occupational Safety Officer of the LD at 2559 2297.
Source: AI-found images
