Water World
Water World Ocean Park Hong Kong
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Statement on the Ocean Park Tower Incident

2014-12-06

At 6:47 p.m. on 6 December 2014, Ocean Park Tower, located at the Summit Area of Ocean Park, was suspended during normal operation at approximately 65 meters off the ground, due to the activation of the ride’s safety system. There were 7 guests on the ride at the time of the suspension.

At 7:00 p.m., Ocean Park commenced standard exiting procedures and started exiting guests from the ride via built-in stairs at the center of the Ocean Park Tower. By 8:09 p.m., all 7 guests were safely exited, without reporting any injury or illness.

Initial observation indicated that certain signal cables in the tower malfunctioned during operation, thereby triggering the ride’s safety mechanism and causing the stoppage. The ride will be closed for the remainder of the night for comprehensive inspection, and will only be re-opened to the public after thorough testing and review. The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) was notified of the incident immediately.

The safety of its guests has always been the top priority of Ocean Park. The Park currently has a total of 25 mechanical rides in operation. All are inspected on a daily basis by a strong team of over 60 certified ride mechanics, and periodical maintenance checks are also conducted on a weekly, monthly and yearly basis to ensure the safety of the mechanical rides. In addition, the rides are subject to annual inspections by ride-surveyors, upon which a detailed report is written and submitted to EMSD. Rehabilitations by the in-house mechanics are also regularly scheduled, with assistance from the manufacturers, when required. In addition, Ocean Park also engages international ride safety consultants every year to review the conditions of all the rides, maintenance and operation practices, and records.

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