Foreign
TWO men were killed and at least six others injured after a Hong Kong tower crane collapsed at a construction site on Wednesday, authorities said.
One man was certified dead at the site in eastern Kowloon and the other man died on the way to the hospital, police told AFP.
Six injured construction workers were taken to hospital, while another man was still trapped under the debris and awaiting rescue, police said.
An AFP reporter at the scene saw over a dozen emergency workers from the city’s Urban Search and Rescue Team surrounding the crumpled crane, which had collapsed onto multiple cargo containers.
The accident took place shortly after 10 am (0200 GMT) when the crane fell onto a container, which then toppled onto construction workers, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
Authorities say they are still investigating the cause of the accident.
Lawmaker Kwok Wai-keung, who represents the labour sector in Hong Kong, said crane collapses are rare in the city and called the accident a “major blow” to the industry.
Kwok urged authorities to investigate whether the collapse was due to a design flaw or human error, and to publish their findings as soon as possible.
The scene of the accident was part of a massive construction site for a subsidised public housing project that aimed to create 19,000 homes, the SCMP reported.
-The Guardian
KN
Tags: Hong Kong crane collapse Kwok Wai-keung
