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Two workers killed after 56-storey plunge in Hong Kong
AFP
March 26, 2014, 5:29 am
Hong Kong (AFP) - Two construction workers in Hong Kong plunged 56 storeys to their deaths Tuesday, fire authorities said, after the scaffolding they stood upon snapped in two.
The accident took place as the pair renovated a residential building in the upscale Mid-Levels neighbourhood of the former British colony, one of the world's most vertical cities known for its strong safety record.
"When fire officers arrived, the gondola (suspended scaffolding) at the 56th floor was broken. Half of it had fallen to a platform around five or six storeys from the floor," a Hong Kong Fire Services Department spokesman told AFP.
He confirmed that there was one male and one female victim, but had no other information about their identities.
"We located one dead person on the platform and the other person was found dead at a drain nearby," he said, adding that a man on the ground sustained injuries to his hands when struck by falling debris.
Hong Kong police said they are investigating the incident.
Construction-related accidents are relatively uncommon in Hong Kong where last year 24 workers died while doing their jobs, according to the Hong Kong Federation of Occupational Safety and Health Associations.
But with eight fatal construction-related accidents already so far this year, the group's president Victor Kwong said safety is an area of "growing concern".
"There is more and more renovation work in Hong Kong which has many old buildings. The safety regulations are in place but are not always enforced," he said.
Kwong added that it is time for contractors to improve safety procedures and awareness at work, including practical training for employees.
Hong Kong Labour Minister Matthew Cheung said the number of deaths related to construction this year is of "high concern".
"We're very concerned about this very serious accident which resulted in two deaths," he told reporters, conveying his condolences to the families of the deceased workers.
A construction worker was killed and 14 others injured in Hong Kong in October 2012 after they were hit by falling steel rods at the building site for a massive bridge connecting the city with the neighbouring cities of Macau and Zhuhai.
Two workmen were killed and two others escaped injury when the gondola they were working on fell apart. Photo: Felix Wong
Debris from the gondola damaged a car on the street below. Photo: Felix wong
Two workers - a man and a woman - plunged about 50 storeys to their deaths from a luxury residential building at The Peak yesterday after a working platform they were on snapped in two.
Police are also investigating reports that two other workers were also on the eight-metre metal cradle but apparently managed to cling on as it broke apart and climb uninjured back inside Tregunter Tower 3 on Tregunter Path, police said.
The two men were said to have left the scene before emergency crew arrived and crime-squad officers are investigating whether illegal workers may have been involved.
One piece of falling metal pierced the roof of a delivery van, injuring a 48-year-old worker inside. He was treated for hand injuries at Queen Mary Hospital in Pok Fu Lam.
Workers fell about 500 feet from the 50th floor of the building on Tregunter Path. Photo: Felix Wong
Secretary for Labour and Welfare Matthew Cheung Kin-chung described the fatal accident as "rare and very serious" and promised a thorough investigation. Eight people have now died in the construction industry this year. "This is worrying. We need to step up education, publicity and enforcement on all fronts," Cheung said.
The two people who died had been carrying out maintenance work to the exterior of Tregunter Tower 3. The as yet unidentified man landed next to the bulk of the broken platform. His body was badly crushed.
The other victim, a female subcontractor, fell onto a nearby hillside, her arm and leg severed. The cause of the accident is still unknown and police are investigating together with the Labour and Electrical and Mechanical Services departments.
"We are not ruling out any possibility," a senior police officer said. "We will investigate whether the working platform was overloaded with construction materials or whether it was a mechanical fault."
At about 11am, the metal platform on which the workers were standing dropped suddenly to the 55th floor from a higher floor when its supports apparently gave way. Cement and tools had also been on the platform, according to police.
"A foreign domestic helper told police that she heard a bang before she realised the working platform had stopped at the 55th floor," another officer said. "It split up. Half of the platform broke off and plunged down."
The broken cradle hit scaffolding on the 10th floor, fell another 30 metres and then landed on a podium linking the tower with the neighbouring Hillsborough Court building.
"The whole building came out after the crash," said Andrew Leyden, who lives nearby. "We just saw a massive amount of dust."
