Firefighters receive 179 reports of people trapped in lifts after sudden voltage dip

On Tuesday afternoon, Hong Kong firefighters received more than 200 reports of people trapped in lifts and false fire alarms triggered by a sudden voltage dip along a power supply line in Kowloon, according to the Fire Services Department (FSD). CLP Power, one of the city’s two utility providers, reported detecting the brief yet sudden voltage drop along a 400-kilovolt line connecting Lai Chi Kok to Tsz Wan Shan at around 1:09 PM.

The voltage drop caused lights to dim or flicker and may have affected power-sensitive electronic devices in parts of Kowloon and the New Territories, though the power supply was not interrupted. The FSD handled 179 lift entrapment cases and 39 false alarms by 3 PM, with the majority of reports concentrated in the Yau Tsim Mong district.

Senior divisional officer Yung Wai-ming stated that the department received 55 reports of people trapped in lifts and 22 false alarms within ten minutes of the voltage drop. Four women aged between 68 and 71 reported injuries after being trapped, with three of them receiving hospital treatment conscious and the remaining woman opting against hospitalization after receiving on-site care.

The FSD activated a call-back mechanism and deployed additional resources to manage the high volume of reports around 2 PM. It took up to 49 minutes for the FSD to respond to false alarms and approximately an hour and 20 minutes to address lift entrapment situations. CLP Power is currently investigating the cause of the sudden voltage drop and has apologized for the inconvenience caused to residents.