[Benjamin]

Fat Duck chefs killed in Hong Kong car accident


Two chefs from Heston Blumenthal's restaurant The Fat Duck have been killed along with their taxi driver in a collision with a bus in Hong Kong.

The pair, who are yet to be identified, were travelling in the Chai Wan district when a bus travelling downhill collided with the oncoming vehicles.

The Michelin-starred restaurant in Bray, Berkshire, confirmed both men were senior members of staff.

Hong Kong Police Force said the bus driver, 57, had been arrested.

He was held on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving before being released on bail.

A spokesperson for the restaurant said: "We can confirm two members of our team were tragically killed in a car accident. They were both senior members and great and dear friends.

"Two uniquely talented young chefs that were loved by everyone who worked with them. They will be sadly and deeply missed."


Two uniquely talented young chefs that were loved by everyone who worked with them”


Police said the bus hit two cars before crossing on to the opposite side of the road, crashing into a taxi and another bus that had both been travelling uphill.

The force said a 53-year-old taxi driver and two foreign male passengers of the taxi, aged 30 and 34, were released from the wreckage by firefighters and taken to Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital where they were pronounced dead.

A total of 56 people were injured, according to police, including a seven-month old baby and a 90-year-old.

The BBC's Hong Kong correspondent Juliana Liu said the two passengers in the taxi were a Swede and a Briton.
The Fat Duck The Fat Duck restaurant opened in 1995

She said: "It appears the driver of a double decker bus lost control and hit several other vehicles and another double decker bus.

"In the process, it trapped the taxi the men were passengers in between the buses.

"There will be a lengthy investigation and the Hong Kong Police Department are already calling for witnesses to come forward."

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirmed that it was providing consular assistance to the family of a British national killed in a crash on Monday.

Mr Blumenthal opened The Fat Duck restaurant in 1995. In 2004 it was awarded three Michelin stars.

In 2005 it was named Best Restaurant in the World in the World's 50 Best Restaurants, which is based on a poll by British magazine Restaurant of international chefs and critics.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-20410800