Construction worker dies after being crushed by falling cage lift at residential property site
Hong Kong Free Press
A worker has died after being crushed by a falling cage lift at a construction site in Tai Wai. It is the third fatal industrial incident Hong Kong has seen in five days.
The 41-year-old man was believed to have been grabbing materials out of the cage on Friday when it suddenly fell onto him, leaving him unconscious, according to the Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims.
The worker was rushed to Prince of Wales Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
According to local media, the man – surnamed Chen – was from Fujian province in China. He leaves behind his wife and their two children, aged 13 and six, in mainland China.
His brother told reporters that Chen had been working at the construction site for around half a year.
The Labour Department said in a statement that it had issued suspension notices to the contractors involved and suspended the use of the cage lift.
“The contractors cannot resume the work until the [Labour Department] is satisfied that measures to abate the relevant risks have been taken,” the statement read.
The construction site is for The Pavilia Farm, a mega residential project developed by the MTR Corporation and New World Development.
The incident marked the third fatal construction-related accident in five days.
On Monday, a worker died after falling from height while dismantling bamboo scaffolding outside a building in To Kwa Wan. A fastener attached to his safety harness was believed to have come loose, and he fell and landed on a first floor canopy.
On Thursday night, a worker fell to his death at a terminal in the Hong Kong International Airport. The 37-year-old reportedly lost his footing and fell from the sixth floor of the concourse to the fourth floor.
The Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims said it was shocked and saddened by the spate of accidents.
“We… urge the government and contractors to carry out their responsibility in terms of protecting workers and take safety measures. Workers should also protect themselves at all times,” the group wrote in a Chinese Facebook post on Friday.
The maximum penalty for employers who commit serious occupation safety violations is HK$10 million under the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance. The penalty was increased from HK$500,000 last April.
A recent fine meted out, however, fell far below the maximum. Last month, Swire Waste Management Limited was handed a HK$80,000 penalty for violating the safety ordinance. The case involved a fatal accident in a landfill last December.
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