A workplace accident at a building site in the city’s Central district has left two injured after a work platform fell from the 28th floor.
Police received a report at 2:42 pm on Monday that a platform had fallen from height at 2 Murray Road in Central — the address of The Henderson, a 36-storey skyscraper. Sources at the construction site reportedly said the platform had fallen from the 28th floor, injuring one and trapping another.
Both workers were sent to Queen Mary Hospital. One worker – who was reportedly crushed then trapped by the platform – was recovered from the debris after some 45 minutes, local media reported. He sustained bone fractures and was conscious when he was sent to hospital for treatment.
The rest of the construction crew were evacuated from the site to a safe area nearby.
Industrial safety
The contractor involved in the accident was Hip Hing Construction Company Limited, which was fined HK$130,000 in connection with a fatal work accident at a Kai Tak construction site last April. A worker died after she fell from the 11th floor of the building down to the ninth.
The firm was fined HK$130,000 this May in relation to another fatal workplace accident last May, when a work platform toppled and crushed a worker, who sustained serious injuries and eventually died.
A spate of workplace incidents, some fatal, have put a spotlight on industrial safety in recent years. Labour rights groups have long said the fines faced by employers were insufficient for reflecting the severity of the offences and deterring offenders.
The Henderson, which is expected to be completed this year, is a Grade-A office tower designed by renowned architectural firm Zaha Hadid Architects.
Earlier this month, four companies and four individuals were prosecuted over a fatal tower crane collapse in Hong Kong almost a year ago which killed three construction workers and left six injured. The case is set to be heard on January 30 next year.
