'Concert Incident Caused By Snapped Metal Cord'

An initial inspection suggests a video panel which fell and injured two dancers at a MIRROR concert on Thursday night came crashing down after a metal suspension cord snapped, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung said on Friday.

Speaking to reporters after visiting the Hong Kong Coliseum where the concert was held, Yeung said it would take a few weeks for a cross-departmental task force to look into the incident in detail, adding that the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) would discuss stage safety with the organisers of upcoming performances in the meantime.

The minister also said it was too early to conclude who was responsible for the mishap, but vowed to pursue the matter thoroughly.

"We will embark on a very detailed investigation, with support from relevant departments, and also some professionals, to make sure that we go deep into the cause of the incident, and to make necessary adjustments, for example, to the procedures as well as to the standards, to make sure that future performances are safe, both to the performers as well as to the audience," he said.

Yeung said authorities had earlier asked organisers to make improvements after noting other stage incidents at the MIRROR concerts.

He also said performance organisers are required to follow safety procedures for all set-ups and devices.

"The LCSD has [to] make an agreement with all the hirers on the arrangement of the performance, and also, the hirers have the prime responsibility to make sure that all the set-ups are safe, both to all the performers as well as to the audience," Yeung said.

"For any particular set-ups on the stage, they have to have a professional registered engineer to certify that the set-ups are safe for that purpose."

Chief Executive John Lee, for his part, said he hopes the investigation can be conducted swiftly to ensure such incidents do not happen again.

He said there is a clear delineation of duties between the organisers and the government when it comes to event safety, and authorities will probe whether the different parties had complied with all the requirements, and whether they need to be enhanced.

Asked if the family of one of the dancers will be exempted from quarantine arrangements after flying into Hong Kong, Lee said authorities will cater for their needs.

The Health Bureau, for its part, said it’s been informed by the injured dancer’s family members that they had successfully booked a quarantine hotel room. Officials said they will assist and arrange for a hospital visit as soon as possible.

The bureau added that under current measures, the Department of Health can exercise discretion and allow those under quarantine to temporarily leave their isolation facility to visit relatives who are critically ill.

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