Actresses survive car accident in Japan
Macy (left) and Queenie
Macy Chan and Queenie Chu were shooting a new travel programme Arrive at Okinawa in Japan for TVB's Pay Vision.
Together with the crew, they were scheduled to stay for 11 days but the journey was cut short after a serious accident on Saturday.
Macy, who had not driven after obtaining her driver's license less than a year ago, was asked to drive throughout the journey.
She was fetching Queenie, a cameraman and a staff member to Akiyoshidai-Minamiyama Observatory in the rainy evening.
The car skidded and fell several hundred metres down the hillside. The four were trapped for 30 minutes before they were rescued.
The car driven by Macy slipped and crashed down the hillslope
After that, Macy's boyfriend singer Eric Suen criticised TVB for being not bothered about the artistes' safety by asking Macy to be the driver.
He also criticised the TV giant for making the actresses share rooms with the male crew members.
"Why do they make female artistes stay in the same room as the male workers? Why must they make a female artiste drive during the whole journey?
"There is a big accident now! The car is total loss… who is responsible?" he wrote on his weibo.
Upon returning to Hong Kong, Macy and Queenie were immediately rushed to hospital for a check-up.
In an interview, the actresses – who were still shaken by the accident - cried.
Macy said: "It was raining heavily, the car skidded and we started moving down the slope.
"I was so frightened, I shouted 'Jesus, help me'. My mouth was full of shattered glass after the accident."
Queenie called the Japanese police for help but had difficulty telling the cops about the accident as she does not speak Japanese. "I just know how to say 'accident' and 'car crash' in Japanese."
The actresses said they were lucky that a large tree and rocks prevented the car from falling even further into the ravine.
"We were just a step away from dying," said Queenie.
The room that the actresses were arranged to share with the male workers
Macy said she was asked to drive when a crew – who was supposed to drive – could not make it to Japan at the last minute.
Queenie said the director wanted them to continue shooting after the accident, but they refused as they were suffering from severe pain in varoius parts of their bodies.
Two staff members remained in Japan, she said.
About the room-sharing issue, Macy and Queenie said they booked a room on their own and stayed together.
TVB executive Virgina Lok explained that the filming was arranged by the contractor in Japan.
She also said: "This is a self-drive travel show, Macy knew she had to be on camera driving.
"The accident happened during the shoot."
Source: TVB News / Agencies
Published Nov 4, 2011
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