Runner's Death Prompts Call For Better Safety Tips

The Coroner's Court has called on organisers of the annual marathon to give clearer and more timely advice about potential health risks, following the death of a runner four years ago. The Coroner also raised concerns about overly-restrictive guidelines on resuscitation.

An inquest found on Wednesday that Ng Cheuk-yue, 24, died of natural causes. He suffered a heart attack and collapsed near the finishing line for the 10-kilometre Standard Chartered Marathon on January 25, 2015.

The coroner, Wong Wai-kuen, said a booklet on tips for runners was not given out early enough for them to make proper preparations for the event, and the print used for the health warnings given was too small.

There was also criticism over the Fire Services Department's (FSD) stance that an automated external defibrillator can only be used on a heart attack patient after one of the department's own paramedics has already carried out at least two minutes' of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

A volunteer from the Auxiliary Medical Service had already tried CPR and the paramedic who arrived later was obliged to make a second attempt. Wong said there might have been a different outcome if the defibrillator was used on Ng sooner.

The coroner described the guideline on the use of defibrillators as "overscrupulous".

He also recommended that the FSD's Ambulance Command review its resources and staffing arrangements for future marathons.

Outside the court, Ng's sister, Anais, fought back tears as she accused the Auxiliary Medical Service of failing to provide her brother with adequate first aid.

She recounted how the volunteer who attended to her brother struggled to summon additional help. She said the woman didn't have a walkie-talkie and her colleagues didn't answer their phones, forcing the volunteer to dial 999 in the end.

"Every day, every night, we think of Cheuk-yue. His life was too short. He was a very capable young man. He was an engineer and was very enthusiastic in serving society," Anais Ng said.

Ng Cheuk-yue's parents were also in court to hear the findings of the inquest but were too upset to speak to reporters.

In response to the coroner's recommendations, organisers of the Hong Kong Marathon said they would remind this year's runners of the potential health risks and to check that their health was up to the event.

They also pledged to boost medical and first aid support at the starting points and finishing lines of its races this year.

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