Worker crushed to death when large piece of metal falls at Hong Kong construction site

A 55-year-old worker was crushed to death when a four-metre-long piece of metal fell onto him at a construction site in Hong Kong on Wednesday.

The man was dismantling a metal structure at a Tung Yuen Street construction site in Yau Tong soon after 11.30am when the incident happened, according to police.

A police spokesman said an initial investigation showed the piece measuring one by four metres fell from a height of 1.2 metres and hit the worker who was trapped and had to be freed by firefighters.

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He said the victim was taken unconscious to United Christian Hospital in Kwun Tong, where he later died.

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Police classified the case as an industrial accident.

It was the city’s second fatal industrial accident within 24 hours.

The first one happened at a house on Kadoorie Avenue in Kowloon City at 11.39am on Tuesday when a worker, 42, fell from bamboo scaffolding built around a luxury house undergoing renovation. Emergency workers were called to the scene.

The worker, who suffered head injuries, was taken to Kwong Wah Hospital in Yau Ma Tei, where he died.

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According to the force, an initial investigation showed he was responsible for passing bamboo to his colleagues to build scaffolding at the time of the incident.

It was his first working day at this site. He was a father of three and a Hong Kong identity card holder of Pakistani origin.

The Labour Department is following up the case.

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