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A burst underground fresh water pipe near a car park at Kwai Shing West Estate in Kwai Chung on Thursday morning caused widespread flooding, triggered a partial road collapse that trapped a passing truck, and disrupted supply to local residents, businesses, and schools.
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The incident occurred early in the morning, sending a large volume of fresh water mixed with silt and sand gushing onto the roadway near the Block 8 car park.
Police officers were dispatched to the scene shortly before nine o’clock to manage traffic and secure the area, while the Water Supplies Department was immediately notified to isolate the burst pipe and begin urgent repairs.
During the chaos, a passing truck drove over a section of the weakened road surface, causing its left wheels to sink deep into a newly formed sinkhole and leaving the vehicle severely tilted and trapped.
According to updates shared on social media by the Water Supplies Department throughout the day, the ruptured pipe was a 200-millimeter fresh water main serving the Kwai Shing Shopping Centre, Blocks 6 through 10 of Kwai Shing West Estate, the Horizon Place residential development, and a local primary school.
Emergency crews managed to halt the gushing water by turning off the control valves.
Following supply rerouting, intensive repairs, and extensive cleanup of the mud-strewn roadway, fresh water services to all affected areas were restored by 5pm, allowing the entrance to the Block 8 car park to reopen to traffic.
However, during the excavation work, maintenance workers discovered a secondary leak in an adjacent flushing water pipe, necessitating further emergency repairs.
Consequently, the supply of flushing water was temporarily cut off to the shopping center, Blocks 7 through 10 of the estate, Horizon Place, Kwai Shing Community Hall, and two nearby schools.
Department officials stated that they would work through the night to repair the flushing pipe, with the goal of restoring service by early Friday morning.
The impact on local residents was largely mitigated because upper-floor residents were supported by the estate’s rooftop storage tanks, which served as a buffer during the outage.
To assist those without water, the department deployed a fresh water truck and positioned at least twenty temporary water tanks around the housing estate and shopping mall, resulting in only minor queues of residents waiting to collect water.
Emergency response teams were also sent door-to-door to coordinate with management offices, restaurants, care homes, and elderly centers to ensure they received direct water deliveries and timely updates.
The department remains in close contact with local district officers, district councilors, Care Teams, and the Housing Department to provide ongoing assistance until services are fully restored.
