政壇：睇社論學英文：人有旦夕禍福 怎堪樂極生悲

天有不測風雲，人有旦夕禍福。本港一個旅行團在埃及遊覽期間樂極生悲，九名團員乘坐熱氣球升空爆炸墜毀不幸遇難。噩耗傳來，聞者傷心，對於港府而言，目前最重要是做好善後安排，給予遭逢巨變的死者家屬最大支援，度過這段艱難時刻。

去年十月，南丫島海難導致三十九人死亡，詎料事隔僅四個月，又發生釀成多名港人罹難的嚴重事故，令人倍添傷感。入境處即時派員趕赴埃及提供協助，顯然是吸取了過去反應遲鈍的教訓。當然，儘管當局快速應變，但絕對不能低估善後安排牽涉的各種困難。例如死者遺體處理問題，基於當地宗教習俗和衞生檢疫要求，可能有異於香港一貫做法。至於今次熱氣球爆炸墜毀原因，港府有必要促請中國駐當地使館跟進追究責任。

事實上，雖然熱氣球觀光是當地熱門旅遊項目，但安全性一直受到質疑，埃及過去亦曾發生涉及香港遊客的嚴重傷亡事故，港府早已對埃及發出紅色旅遊警示，意味到埃及旅遊具有一定危險性。港府有需要檢討現行安排，透過旅遊業議會制訂更嚴格的出團指引，提高避險意識，規範旅遊社跟隨旅遊警示級別調整旅遊路線。

Joy surfeited turns to sorrow

In nature, there are unexpected storms; and in life, unpredictable vicissitudes. The dream holiday of a group of Hong Kong tourists in Egypt ended in tragedy. Nine tour members took a hot-air balloon trip, but the balloon exploded and plunged from the sky. Hong Kong is saddened by the shocking news. For the Government, the most important task at the moment is to properly deal with the aftermath of the accident and provide the most support to the victims’ families so that they can tide over this difficult time.

Last October, the collision of 2 passenger vessels off Lamma Island took a heavy toll of 39 lives. Who could have expected that another disaster would befall in just 4 months? The latest accident killing 9 Hong Kong people strikes further sorrow into our hearts. Having obviously learned a lesson from the slow response in the past, the Immigration Department immediately sent its staff to Egypt for assistance. Notwithstanding the fast reaction, it cannot underestimate the obstacles to the follow-up arrangements. For example, due to the local religion, customs and quarantine requirements, the handling of the dead bodies may be very different from our practice. As for the cause of the hot-air balloon explosion, the Hong Kong Government must urge the Chinese embassy there to find out who should be held responsible for the tragedy.

In fact, despite the popularity of hot-air balloon among tourists in Egypt, its safety has always been doubtful. Fatal accidents involving Hong Kong people have already happened in Egypt before. Our Government has issued a red Outbound Travel Alert (OTA) against the country for a long time, indicating that there is a significant threat in visiting it. The administration needs to review the present arrangement and issue more stringent overseas tour guidelines through the Travel Industry Council. Hong Kong tourists’ awareness of risk avoidance should be raised and travel agencies should adjust their itineraries according to the levels of OTA.

重要生字

joy surfeited turns to sorrow 樂極生悲

unpredictable vicissitudes 旦夕禍福

awareness of risk avoidance 避險意識