A fire engine overturned on the flyover near Estrada da Bela Vista in Areia Preta district at about 6:30 p.m. yesterday, according to local Chinese-language media reports.
A number of recovery vehicles later arrived at the scene, as well as several mechanics to check how to deal with the situation. The Fire Services Bureau (CB) dispatched five fire engines and 33 firefighters while the Public Security Police (PSP) dispatched 18 officers to the scene, according to the media reports.
A spokesperson for the Fire Services Bureau (CB) told reports at the scene that the fire brigade received a report at around 6:30 p.m. yesterday that a 68-metre-long fire engine had overturned on the flyover in Estrada da Bela Vista. The fire engine’s driver and four other firemen in the vehicle were not injured, nor did the incident cause any injuries to other motorists or pedestrians. However, a seven-seater people carrier was scratched by falling debris when it was travelling under the flyover but no-one in the vehicle was injured.
The spokesperson said that the driver had 10 years’ experience driving a “special vehicle”, adding that he has been driving a fire engine with a ladder for six years. The fire engine had its regular inspection and maintenance last year. The driver will be temporarily suspended from driving any fire engines and transferred to another role, according to the spokesperson. Psychological counselling would be provided to him and the bureau is following up on the cause of the accident, said the spokesperson.
Incident between reporter and police at the scene
Meanwhile, the Public Security Police (PSP) said in a statement yesterday evening that a man had been filming near the accident scene. A PSP officer at the scene persuaded him to stop filming and retreat to a safe position.
The statement did not identify the man’s purpose of filming the scene of the accident.
However, the Public Security Police said in the same statement that they have always respected the freedom of the press, maintained a good cooperative relationship with the media, and coordinated media interviews without affecting operations to ensure the safety as well as the order of the scene.
According to the police, the Public Security Police will provide clearer guidelines for how to handle this kind of situations, and it will also follow up on the incident between the man and the officer.
According to Macao Daily News (澳門日報)online reports, one of the reporters at the scene was “pushed away” by a PSP officer claiming that the reporter had entered the police’s restricted area. The officer also asked the reporter to show his work ID, which he did. Subsequently, the officer claimed that the reporter had illegally filmed him, and threatened him with arrest, and finally snatched the reporter’s recording device, according to the report.
The Macao Daily News said that it reported the incident to the Office of the Secretary for Security (GSS) which gave reassurances that it is unacceptable for a police officer to obstruct a reporter’s normal work, promising to investigate the incident.
The newspaper did not say for which media organisation the reporter involved in the incident works.
Firefighters work at the scene of yesterday evening’s spectacular incident in which a fire engine overturned on a flyover in Estrada da Bela Vista in Areia Preta. Photo courtesy of TDM
