Wong Hei hit by altitude sickness - Ambulance ferrying actor to hospital crashes into river

Wong Hei hit by altitude sickness
Ambulance ferrying actor to hospital crashes into river
OLYMPIC TORCH RELAY DRAMA AT MT EVEREST
Credit: Newpaper

Drama continued to dog the Olympic torch relay even as it closed in on its final destination - Beijing.

Hong Kong television actor Wong Hei, who was preparing to cover the Olympic torch relay to Mount Everest, suffered from altitude sickness when he was 5,200m above sea level.

To make things worse, the ambulance that was called in to take the TVB actor overturned on its way to the hospital, South China Morning Post reported yesterday.
Ironically, Wong had in the past successfully climbed to a height of 6,381m on Mt Everest.
With his experience scaling mountains, the TV station decided to assign him to cover the torch relay.

Wong had previously suffered from altitude sickness but recovered after a short rest.
But things turned out differently on Monday.
During a break, the accompanying doctor inspected everyone. He checked on the sleeping Wong and discovered he was suffering from altitude sickness.
As Wong's brain was lacking in oxygen and his blood oxygen level was low, an ambulance was called.

A doctor found that TVB actor Wong Hei (above) has low oxygen level in his brain and blood. The Everest torch, specially designed to burn in frigid, windy, oxygen-thin Himalayan air, is a sister flame to the one that made its way around the world.

MISSION CONTINUES

But during the drive to the hospital, the ambulance turned too sharply and ended up in a river.
The driver and doctor in the front of the ambulance were unhurt. A nurse in the back suffered head injury.
Wong, who spoke with reporters on the phone, said that although he was still weak, he has not forgotten his mission on Mt Everest.

He said: 'I was lucky. I hope to recover soon and continue to do my report. If I don't finish my work, I will find it hard to return to Hong Kong.'

He added that the episode has not frightened him. 'Aiyah, who knows death can come with no sound and no warning, you will leave everything behind and die.
'If you don't die after a calamity, fortune will follow. Hopefully, I can share my fortune with everyone.'
Wong was discharged yesterday evening and said he would continue covering the torch relay on Mt Everest.

Yesterday, China marked the 100-day countdown to the Olympics with the torch's return to Chinese soil when it landed in bustling Hong Kong, reported AP.
The flame was driven to a welcoming ceremony at a cultural centre but five pro-democracy activists tried to disrupt the event.

The protest's leader maverick lawmaker Leung Kwok Hung said: 'We demand that the Chinese communist regime lives up to the promise it made in 2002 (when it was awarded the Olympics) to improve human rights in China.'
But Mr Leung was heckled by a few elderly onlookers who accused him of stirring up trouble. One asked him: 'Do you consider yourself Chinese?'

About 3,000 police planned to guard the torch tomorrow during its relay through this former British colony.

'The 100 days ahead will bring mounting excitement and energy to Beijing,' the International Olympic Committee said.
'Citizens and visitors will see the city continue to transform itself, as it welcomes athletes, the media and spectators for the final test events, as well as for the Games themselves.'
And in officially atheist China, Catholic churches prayed for a successful Games, Reuters reported.

One nun said they forgave people who had disrupted the torch relay.
'Of course we forgive the things that those who don't understand politics have done,' Sister Angela Teresa Ying said after attending a Mass for the Games at a Beijing cathedral.