Packed bus plunges off bridge

A DOUBLE-decker bus packed with schoolchildren and commuters collided with a truck and plunged off a bridge in Hong Kong yesterday, killing at least 21 people and injuring 20 others.

Some passengers were thrown out of the vehicle and others were trapped inside as it fell more than 50ft onto a hillside.

Government helicopters buzzed over the scene as rescuers tied the injured to stretchers before forming a human chain and using ropes to pull them up the slope.

Bruised and bloodied survivors were rushed to four nearby hospitals in the suburban New Territories, fire commander Wong Sai-chuen said.

A witness said the bus appeared to have moved too close to the truck before it smashed through the bridge's guard rails.

The bus driver was among those killed and the truck driver was detained for questioning by the police.

Four of the injured were in a critical condition and 12 were in a serious condition. The youngest victim a nine-year-old girl was listed as stable, government spokeswoman Josephine Yu said.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa arrived on the scene quickly and said the government would do all it could to help the survivors, find out what caused the crash and make sure it does not happen again.

"This has been a very devastating and painful accident for all of us," he said.

Hong Kong's roads are generally safe, and transport commissioner Robert Footman said he had never seen such a crash here.