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Baby fighting for life after falling tree kills pregnant woman in Mid-Levels
Emergency caesarean section carried out in bid to save baby boy after large section of tree lands on mother, 37, on Robinson Road
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 14 August, 2014, 5:07pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 14 August, 2014, 7:23pm
Clifford Lo [email protected]
The scene on Robinson Road after the tragic accident on Thursday afternoon. Photo: Sam Tsang
An emergency caesarean section was carried out on a dying pregnant woman to save the life of her baby boy, after the woman was crushed by a falling tree in Mid-Levels today.
The infants' heartbeat stopped when the child was removed from his mother’s body but doctors managed to revive the infant after 30 minutes of first aid and resuscitation. The hospital said the mother was about 38 weeks pregnant.
“A baby is now in the intensive care unit of Queen Mary Hospital and the mother has passed away,” a government spokesman said. "The infant is in a critical condition.
A large section of tree broke off and landed on the 37-year-old woman, named Zhang Qin, outside Palm Court on Robinson Road at about 2.30pm. Police say the woman had a Hong Kong identity card.
A large section of tree broke off, killing the expectant mother. Photo: Sam Tsang
A male witness on the other side of the road said he heard a loud bang and then saw a falling tree land on the pavement.
“People near a bus stop saw a person trapped under broken branches,” he said.
Several passers-by then moved the tree to find the pregnant woman lying motionless and apparently unconscious underneath.
Passers-by moved the tree to find the pregnant woman lying unconscious underneath. Photo: Sam Tsang
The woman was rushed to Queen Mary Hospital in Pok Fu Lam where the emergency procedure was carried out.
“Officers are still carrying out inquiries at the scene of the accident,” a police spokeswoman said.
A section of the westbound lane on Robinson Road was blocked by the falling tree. Police and firefighters are still at the scene.
The scene of the accident on Robinson Road. Photo: Sam Tsang
“I walk past [this tree] every day,” said Elenita Delacruz, a 46-year-old domestic assistant who works at Seymour Place, an apartment building across the street.
At least two people have been killed in similar circumstances in Hong Kong in the last six years.
In 2008, a 19-year-old university student was killed by a falling tree in Stanley, and in 2010 cyclist Choi Kit-keung, 49, died after being hit by a falling branch in Sha Tin.
