‘I feel unsettled’: counselling hotlines flooded with calls after accident at Mirror concert in Hong Kong
- Some concertgoers and those who watched videos of incident have reported insomnia, nightmares and feelings of stress
- Psychologist Dr Eliza Cheung says feelings of stress were normal, but reminded people to seek help if they persist
An accident involving a giant video screen crashing down onto a stage in the middle of a show by Canto-pop band Mirror has left 20-year-old Venus Chu unable to stomach any more information about the fateful night.
“My mind went blank on the spot and I immediately halted recording [the show]. I cannot re-watch that video clip, I am very scared,” said Chu, who was filming the performance when the accident happened.
The avid Mirror supporter unfollowed many fan club accounts on Instagram immediately after the incident and tried to avoid clips circulating online. Still, it did not stop her from waking up twice that night.
Meanwhile, 20-year-old Tina Yeung Ka-ying, who did not attend the concert, could not stop herself from watching clips of the accident out of stress.
“I really wanted to figure out what happened, so I re-watched the videos multiple times,” Yeung said. The Mirror fan added she was already sensitive to loud sounds and footage of people getting injured after witnessing a car crash four years ago.
“I felt very disturbed and unsettled, I had to take melatonin pills to help with sleep,” she said.
Videos of the incident went viral on Thursday night, as residents sought to understand what had happened at Hong Kong Coliseum. But watching close-ups of the monitor falling down had also left some reeling in trauma, as many who saw the video said they felt scared and unable to process the incident.
