Tragedy hits Sau Mau Ping

At least seven people, including four children, were killed by the landslide that hit Sau Mau Ping Estate yesterday (August 25, 1976).

Yesterday’s disaster was only a few blocks away from a slope which slipped on June 18, 1972, killing 67 people.

Fire Services teams, assisted by the Army, spent the night under search lights trying to locate people still not accounted for and thought to be buried under tons of mud which engulfed half the ground floor of Block 9 — housing about 1,200 people.

The Governor, Sir Murray MacLehose, has ordered an urgent survey of slopes in the area.

Sir Murray arrived at the estate a few hours after the disaster occurred to inspect the extent of the damage and to talk to rescue workers.

He also talked to some of the affected families in the Estate Office, where about 200 people were temporarily accommodated.