Lucky boy: Truckie Chung Chi-wing thanks PC Tang by the accident scene

These were the words of truck driver Chung Chi-wing who was left trembling when he recently re-visited the scene of a near-fatal accident outside Sha Tau Kok where his vehicle rolled down a slope and caught fire. Returning three weeks after the December 4 accident, Mr Chung said he owed his life to Police Constable Tang Yiu-kwong of the New Territories North Quick Reaction Force.

He and a dozen officers were heading to Sha Tau Kok in a police lorry for an anti-illegal immigrant operation when they heard about the accident on Sha Tau Kok Road.

"We saw the truck lying in a ditch about 10 metres beneath the slope, apparently having crushed and gone over the railings," PC Tang said. "It was engulfed in heavy smoke and fire was spreading to the driver's cab."

Snatching a fire extinguisher from the police lorry, he tried to put out the blaze but failed. He then saw the semi-conscious driver trapped behind the steering wheel and in danger of suffocating or burning to death. Without a second thought, PC Tang dashed into the driver's cab and pulled him from the wreckage with help from other officers and a construction worker. The officer suffered minor injuries to his hands and was sent to hospital with the driver. On his selfless act of risking his own life to save the driver, PC Tang believed it was "nothing special" and all part of the job.

He's received praise from the Fire Services Department for the rescue and has also been recommended for the Medal of Bravery.




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