Water cannon trucks deployed in Hong Kong as demonstrators clash with police

Shocking footage has captured the moment a Hong Kong cop chased a protester into an airport toilet and carried out a raid.

High-pressured water cannons deployed as violence rages in Hong Kong. Picture: AP/ Kin Cheung

After a night of chaos in Hong Kong, hundreds of protesters stormed the city’s airport.

Anti-government protesters have used burning barricades to block roads near the airport and damaged a train station following a night of violent clashes with police.

The express train and some bus service to the airport on the outlying island of Chek Lap Kok were suspended Sunday. Some passengers walked to the airport, one of Asia’s busiest, carrying their luggage.

At the arrival hall, dramatic footage shows how one officer chased a male protester who attempted to seek refuge in the male toilets.

The video, shared by Hong Kong Free Press showed how the man tripped and was beaten by the officer with his baton.

The officer then tried to check the cubicles for any hidden protesters.

At @hkairport, one officer chased a male protester who attempted to seek refuge in the male toilets. HKFP footage showed how the man tripped & was beaten by the officer with his baton. Full story: https://t.co/IjrvyW2QBB @creery_J #HongKong #China #hongkongprotests #antiELAB pic.twitter.com/gR6ZiBamDM

— Hong Kong Free Press (@HongKongFP) September 1, 2019

Outside one terminal at the international hub, protesters set off fire extinguishers, piled luggage trolleys into makeshift road barricades and smashed surveillance cameras.

Hong Kong police said they were poised to launch a “dispersal operation”, and in a Facebook post warned protesters to leave the airport area “immediately”.

Flights had so far not been disrupted, but some passengers were left bewildered by the chaotic scenes.

“I want to go into the airport to find my sister, but I couldn’t get in,” Indonesian domestic helper Samirah told AFP.

Protesters run from police at the bus terminal at Hong Kong International Airport. Picture: AFP

It comes after teargas and coloured blue water was fired dramatically from a water cannon truck at raging protesters who threw gasoline bombs at government headquarters in Hong Kong on Saturday night.

Demonstrators were doused by the high-pressure coloured water after taking over roads and major intersections in popular shopping districts as they rallied on Saturday.

Local media reported that the coloured spray aimed to make it easier to identify suspects.

Authorities closed streets and a subway station near the Chinese government office and parked water cannon trucks and erected additional barriers nearby, fearing protesters might target the building.

RELATED: Hong Kong burns as violence erupts

RELATED: Police threaten those at ‘religious rally’ with prosecution

RELATED: Tanks and armed personnel carriers rolling through Hong Kong

A protester fetches an exploded tear gas shell, as blue-coloured water is fired from water cannons in Hong Kong. Picture: Vincent Yu/AP

A protester runs for cover as police fire blue-coloured water from a water cannon. Picture: Vincent Yu/AP

Protesters take cover as policemen fire blue-coloured water on them. Picture: AP/ Kin Cheung

The mostly young protesters, in their signature black T-shirts and masks, marched in the Causeway Bay shopping district, with the crowds beginning to grow after dusk.

The stand-off continued for some time, but protesters started moving back as word spread police were headed in their direction.

Frontline protesters hurled gasoline bombs at the officers in formation.

“Peaceful protest doesn’t work,” 22-year-old protester Stone told AFP, giving one name.

“I think they (the hardcore protesters) have to vent their anger to achieve something.”

A protester walks in front of a burning barricade during a clash with police after an anti-government rally in Wan Chai district. Picture: Anthony Kwan/Getty Images

Streets were set aflame as demonstrators targeted a roadblock near Hong Kong police headquarters, sending plumes of black smoke into the night sky.

The scenes seem certain to inflame tensions in a city driven by nearly three months of pro-democracy demonstrations.

A protester throws a molotov cocktail towards a barrier in Hong Kong, Saturday, August 31. Picture: Kin Cheung/AP

Later that night police stormed an underground railway carriage and hit passengers with batons and pepper spray.

Police were swinging batons at passengers on the platform of Prince Edward subway station as they backed into one end of a train car shielding themselves with umbrellas.

Police say they entered the station to arrest offenders after it was believed protesters assaulted others and damaged property.

It wasn’t clear if all the passengers were protesters.

Injured passengers as riot police charged and pepper-sprayed the train carriages at Prince Edward MTR Station earlier on Saturday night.

In full: https://t.co/kmLJLFCnSX. Photo: Stand News via TVB live. #hongkong #hongkongprotests #antiELAB #china pic.twitter.com/mAfmropUsH

— Hong Kong Free Press (@HongKongFP) August 31, 2019

Chaos on Hong Kong’s MTR network as police chase protesters into station and beat people on train https://t.co/nfnOZez0hX

— Jeffie Lam (@jeffielam) September 1, 2019

Angry crowds gathered outside Prince Edward and nearby Mongkok station, where police said they made arrests after protesters vandalised the customer service centre and damaged ticked machines.

Video footage of what unfolded at the station has been widely shared on social media as another example of police brutality during the protests.

News report of MTR station assault by the police. You can see multiple times in this 52 seconds of video that police uses force to people not resisting at all, including those who got beaten up in the train, and got sprayed tear liquid after the beating. pic.twitter.com/jGqFTxX9Mb

— LO Kin-hei 羅健熙 (@lokinhei) August 31, 2019

The horrible scene at Prince Edward Station where Police Raptors rushed into the MTR train cart, and beat up anyone in there with totally no harm & no sign of defiance. Just the same as the 7.21 Yuen Long Attack carried out by mobs. pic.twitter.com/nTfBb1ehG4

— LO Kin-hei 羅健熙 (@lokinhei) August 31, 2019

It came as police fired tear gas and water cannons at petrol bomb-throwing protesters, who defied a ban on rallying — and mounting threats from China — to take to the streets for a 13th straight weekend.

Police had banned the demonstration on security grounds and on Friday arrested several key activists and legislators in a dragnet on pro-democracy figures.

Opposition to the extradition bill — now suspended but not permanently withdrawn — has brought much of Hong Kong to the streets, with millions marching peacefully but also groups of radical protesters clashing with police.

A protester uses a shield to cover himself as he faces policemen. Picture: Jae C Hong/AP

The protests have expanded into a wider pro-democracy call and a rejection of attempts by Beijing to curtail the freedoms of the semi-autonomous territory.

Protesters were in defiant mood throughout Saturday, which marked the fifth anniversary of Beijing’s rejection of a call for universal suffrage for Hong Kong that sparked the 79-day “Umbrella Movement” in 2014.

Volunteer medics help a woman cross a road during a clash between police and protesters in Causeway Bay district. Picture: Anthony Kwan/ Getty Images

Pro-democracy demonstrators plan to choke travel routes to Hong Kong’s international airport after a chaotic night of running battles between police and masked protesters, in the latest wave of unrest to hit the Chinese-ruled city.

Protest organisers have urged the public to overwhelm road and rail links to the airport on Sunday and Monday, potentially disrupting flights. A similar so-called “stress test” of the airport last weekend failed.

— With AP