XN000022-1976-11-07 — Page 4

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1976

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+AFTER REPAIRS TO THE DIESEL ENGINE OF THE MOBILE CRANE IT REFUSED TO START AND A CYLINDER CONTAINING OXYGEN WAS THEN INCORPORATED IN THE SYSTEM AND USED FOR STARTING PURPOSES. WHEN THE MACHINE WAS TURNED ON, THE ENGINE TICKED OVER AND A VIOLENT EXPLOSION FOLLOWED IMMEDIATELY.+

EXPLAINING THE CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT, MR. LIK SAID: +EECAUSE THE COMPRESSOR PLANT HAD NOT BEEN ATTENDED TO, QUANTITIES OF OIL HAD ACCUMULATED IN THE SYSTEM. THIS OIL, IN COMBINATION WITH THE PURE OXYGEN USED FOR STARTING THE DIESEL ENGINE, FORMED AN EXTREMELY EXPLOSIVE AND POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS MIXTURE, VERY MUCH MORE POWERFUL THAN AN OIL/AIR MIXTURE CONTAINING ATMOSPHERIC NITROGEN WHICH NORMALLY ACTS AS A MODERATOR.

+THIS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS MIXTURE, IN ALL PROBABILITY, WAS IGNITED BY HOT GASES LEAKING THROUGH THE STARTING AIR VALVĖS.

+THE NET RESULT,+ MR. LIN ADDED, +WAS THE RUPTURING OF THE AIR RECEIVER WITH DISASTROUS CONSQUENCES.+

PUBLIC ENQUIRIES ON MTR ******

A TOTAL OF 60,816 ENQUIRIES AND CASES ON MATTERS CONCERNING THE MASS TRANSIT RAILWAY WERE HANDLED BY THE PUBLIC ENQUIRY CENTRES OF THE HOME AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT DURING THE PAST NINE MONTHS, A SPOKESMAN FOR THE DEPARTMENT SAID TODAY.

THIS, HE SAID, REFLECTED GROWING PUBLIC INTEREST AND CONCERN OVER THIS HIGHLY SOPHISTICATED TRANSPORT SYSTEM.

+THE NATURE OF ENQUIRIES HANDLED RANGED FROM REQUESTS FOR FACTUAL INFORMATION SUCH AS ROUTES AND MAPS TO HIGHLY COMPLEX MATTERS SUCH AS ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA AND APPLICATION PROCEDURES FOR COMPENSATION FOR LOSSES INCURRED DUE TO THE MTR'S CONSTRUCTION, WORKS, HE SAID.

+THE NUMBER OF SUCH COMPLICATED CASES DEALT WITH, SOMETIMES REACHED MORE THAN 80 A MONTH, HE SAID. THE STRAIGHTFORWARD CASES AVERAGED SOME 6,700 A MONTH. →

THE SPOKESMAN ADDED THAT A NUMBER OF THESE ENQUIRIES WERE MADE BY PHONE BUT THAT THERE WAS AN INCREASING NUMBER OF PEOPLE GOING IN PERSON TO THE 22 PUBLIC ENQUIRY CENTRES SCATTERED ALL OVER HONG KONG.

+ASSISTANCE AND ADVICE IS GIVEN WHENEVER POSSIBLE,+ HE ADDED.

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