Mirror concert accident: task force suggests Hong Kong event organisers should hire independent safety inspectors
- Report by interdepartmental task force says Mirror concert organisers failed to certify stage was safe
- Two dancers were seriously injured during accident on July 28, with one at risk of being paralysed from the neck down
Event organisers at government-run performance venues should have to hire independent inspectors to check engineering work, a Hong Kong safety task force suggested on Friday.
The news came as the interdepartmental task force inquiry into how a giant LED screen fell onto the stage and seriously injured two dancers at a concert by boy band Mirror found the organisers had failed to certify that the installation was safe.
The task force listed a string of recommendations after the investigation found incorrect reporting of the installations’ weights, the use of substandard support cables and a poorly installed rope guard also contributed to the accident, which left performer Mo Li Kai-yin at risk of becoming paralysed from the neck down.
Led by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the task force, which is conducting a separate investigation from police, was formed after a four-by-four-metre (13 foot by 13 foot) screen weighing more than 500kg (1,100lbs) fell onto the stage during a performance by the boy band on July 28.
Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said the venue hirer had violated the terms of use by submitting inaccurate information on the installations.
