XN000022-1976-08-31 — Page 2

TUESDAY, AUGUST 31, 1976.

WORLD EXPERTS TO HELP INVESTIGATE THE SAU MAU PENG

LANDSLIDE *****

THE GOVERNMENT IS TO SET UP A PANEL OF WORLD EXPERTS TO WORK WITH THE P.W.D. CONSULTANT ENGINEERS INVESTIGATING THE SAU MAU PING LANDSLIDE.

THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS, MR. WILLIAM BELL, ANNOUNCED THIS EVENING THAT A LIST OF WORLD" AUTHORITIES IN THE SPECIAL BRANCH OF SOIL MECHANICS INVOLVED IN THE PROBLEM HAD BEEN SENT TO THE FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE IN LONDON.

HE SAID THE FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE HAD BEEN ASKED TO APPROACH THE PRESIDENT OF THE INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS, SIR NORMAN ROWNTREE, TO GET THE INSTITUTION'S ENDORSEMENT OF THE PROPOSED PANEL, AND TO SEE IF THE INSTITUTION HAD ANY OTHER NAMES TO SUGGEST.

THE PROPOSED PANEL DREW ON EXPERTS IN A NUMBER OF OVERSEAS COUNTRIES AS WELL AS IN HONG KONG, SO AS TO HAVE ACCESS TO THE LATEST KNOWLEDGE AVAILABLE IN THE FIELD.

MR. BELL SAID THE EXPERTS WHOSE NAMES HAVE BEEN PASSED TO THE INSTITUTION WERE NOT ONLY TOP MEN IN THE VERY SPECIALISED BRANCH OF SOIL MECHANICS INVOLVED IN THE SAU MAU PING LANDSLIDE, BUT ALSO THE APPLICATION OF THIS KNOWLEDGE TO THE SPECIFIC GEOLOGICAL CONDITIONS OF HONG KONG AND THE LANDSLIDE AREA,

+THIS IS A DEVELOPING FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY IN WHICH THERE HAVE BEEN MAJOR ADVANCES IN WORLD KNOWLEDGE IN RECENT YEARS,+ SAID MR. BELL.

+ INDEED MUCH NEW KNOWLEDGE HAS BEEN THROWN UP BY BINNIES' CONTINUING INVESTIGATIONS IN PHASE 11 OF THE LANDSLIP STUDY.

+THERE IS EVERY INDICATION FROM BINNIES' PRELIMINARY FINDINGS ON LAST WEEK'S TRAGEDY THAT THE COMPREHENSIVE REPORT THEY ARE NOW PREPARING WILL SHED EVEN GREATER LIGHT ON THE CONDITIONS ARISING FROM THE UNUSUAL COMBINATION OF FACTORS WHICH APPEAR TO HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN THE SAU MAU PING SLIDE.+

MR. BELL SAID THAT THE CONSULTANTS WERE NOW BEGINNING A COMPREHENSIVE SERIES OF TESTS TO VERIFY THE INDICATIONS OF THEIR PRELIMINARY FINDINGS,

A DRILLING RIG HAD BEEN MOVED ON TO THE SITE TODAY TO TAKE DEEP-CORE SAMPLES FROM THE LANDSLIDE SLOPE.

THESE SOIL SAMPLES AND OTHERS TAKEN FROM THROUGHOUT THE SLOPE AREA WOULD BE SUBJECTED TO EXHAUSTIVE LABORATORY TESTS TO PROVIDE THE DATA FROM WHICH THE CONSULTANTS WOULD PREPARE THEIR FINAL REPORT.

THIS REPORT