The government is investigating an incident last month in which an elevator plummeted in a public housing estate.

The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) yesterday confirmed that seven of the eight cables suspending the elevator, which operated in Shin Nga House of Tai Po's Fu Shin Estate, broke before the elevator fell on Oct 25.

EMSD Chief Engineer K H Ling said that type of incident is rare.

The elevator, he said, had its cables replaced in 2006 and passed an annual check earlier this year.

He noted that if there was any damage to the cables, it would have be visible.

The department will investigate whether all technical procedures were followed during the elevator checks.

They will also test the damaged part of the elevator to find out why the cables broke, and a report will be compiled within a month.

The elevator company, Thyssen Krupp Elevator, was asked to give the EMSD a report on the incident in two weeks.

On the night of Oct 25, a 16-year-old girl was taking the elevator from the 20th floor to the ground level.

But when the elevator started making strange noises, the girl exited on the 14th floor.

Moments after she had gotten off, the elevator plunged to the ground. No one was injured.

The elevator has been suspended from operation since the incident.

A notice has been posted on the lobby of the building informing residents about the incident.

Staff from the EMSD and the elevator company have checked the operation of the remaining elevators in the estate.

A resident of the estate, Mrs Lau, who was going to take her daughter to the elevator at the time of the incident, witnessed the whole thing. She said it still haunts her.

"If I were in the elevator with my daughter, we would both be dead," she said.

Elevator company Thyssen Krupp said its technicians checked the elevator in mid-October, but the company refused to comment on why problems were not detected at that time.

Tai Po District Councilor in Fu Shin Estate said some residents were worried about taking the elevators after the incident.

He said the elevators in Shin Nga House always broke down, but the elevator company could not solve the problems.

He has asked the management company to find another elevator company to compile another incident report.

Charles Wong, chief instructor of lifts at the Electrical Industry Training Centre of the Vocational Training Council, said it is unusual for the cables to snap as they did.

He said the law requires maintenance checks on elevators at least once every four weeks.

He also said a humid environment would make the cables deteriorate faster.

The cables would need to be changed if there was damage on more than 10 percent of the cables' diameter, he said.

The estate's management company, Synergis Management Services, declined to comment yesterday because the incident is under investigation.

The Housing Authority said it does not run Fu Shin Estate, which is managed by incorporated owners, but the authority will check 1,000 elevators of the same model in their estates.

(HK Edition 11/05/2008 page1)