XN000022-1996-01-26 — Page 5

- 3

Mrs Chan, elected as the 1995 Hong Kong Standard "Leader of the Year", confirmed that she, as head of the civil service, would continue to stand for "honest and principled government".

End

$ for W asks for investigation into footbridge collapse incident

The Secretary for Works, Mr HS Kwong, this evening (Friday) visited the site of a footbridge which collapsed during the final stage of construction at Po Ning Road, Tseung Kwan O.

Mr Kwong was briefed on site by staff of the Territory Development Department (TDD) and the consulting engineers supervising the rescue and clearance work.

Mr Kwong said: "I have asked for a full investigation into the accident and I am expecting a report from TDD and the consulting engineers upon completion of their investigation."

The accident occurred at about 4.15 pm today when a number of workmen were making preparations for the lowering of two parallel beams onto their final position at a later day.

Mr Kwong said: "My understanding is that the contractor has been following the safety procedure thoroughly. The method of construction is checked regularly by the consulting engineers and independent inspectors.

"I have also asked for the removal of the collapsed structure in order to re-open the road as soon as possible."

Mr Kwong also visited the injured workers at United Christian Hospital.

End