The Hong Kong government has suspended a construction site near the city’s international airport after a worker was killed by a falling iron beam while another was injured.
The fatal accident took place on Thursday at around 2pm at a site near the Boundary Crossing Facilities of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, according to local media reports.
The iron beam fell as workers were dismantling metal structures and hit a male worker on the ground, according to the Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims. The worker, surnamed Wong and in his 40s, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The other male worker, surnamed Lau and in his 50s, fell from a height after the iron beam hit the elevated platform he was working on and sustained injuries to his hand, feet, and back, the association said. He was taken to hospital in a conscious state.
In a press release issued shortly before midnight on Thursday, the Labour Department said it was highly concerned about the fatal accident and had commenced an investigation.
“We commenced an immediate on-site investigation as soon as we were notified of the accident and have issued suspension notices to the contractors concerned, suspending the erection, addition, alteration, dismantling and use of the structure,” a spokesperson for the Labour Department said.
“The contractors cannot resume the work process until the [Labour Department] is satisfied that suitable measures to abate the relevant risks have been taken,” the spokesperson added.
The spokesperson also said that the department would take legal action if the investigation revealed any violation of work safety legislation.
The red rainstorm warning was in force when the accident occurred on Thursday.
In a separate press release issued on Thursday morning, the Labour Department urged employers and workers to make work arrangements as rainstorm warnings were issued.
When a red rainstorm warning is issued, supervisors of “employees working outdoors or in exposed areas should suspend outdoor duties as soon as practicable,” the Labour Department said.
According to Ming Pao, the site involved was part of a construction project for a vehicular bridge connecting the airport’s SkyCity and the Boundary Crossing Facilities of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.
The main contractor of the site is China State Construction Engineering (Hong Kong), Ming Pao reported.
The firm has been involved in serious industrial accidents. In January, a large bamboo scaffolding collapsed at the company’s construction site for a new hospital in Kai Tak, injuring 11 workers.
In September, a crane collapsed and injured five at a Lok Ma Chau construction site that was overseen by the company, according to HK01.
