Safety belt ‘may have played pivotal role’ in saving life of Hong Kong worker, 51, who fell 19 floors in fatal scaffolding collapse
- The 51-year-old woman was standing on the 15-by-eight-metre scaffolding when it collapsed
- Source familiar with case describes her survival as a ‘miracle’, says safety harness may have stopped her from hitting ground directly
During the incident, which claimed the lives of two other workers, the 51-year-old woman, surnamed Li, was working on the 15-by-eight-metre (49-by-26-foot) structure to install aluminium plates and glass on the outer wall on the 19th floor of the building on the city’s former Kai Tak Airport runway.
A source familiar with the case said Li fell along with the collapsed scaffolding on Tuesday afternoon.
“An initial investigation indicated [Li] was wearing a safety belt at the time of the incident,” the insider said.
Describing her survival as a “miracle”, he said the safety harness might have stopped her body from hitting the ground directly, which could have helped save her life.
The truss-out scaffolding fell 19 floors to ground level, but remained intact without breaking into pieces.
Li was among five injured workers found under the bamboo structure when emergency personnel arrived, according to authorities. She was admitted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Yau Ma Tei in a serious condition.
Hong Kong starts citywide bamboo scaffolding checks after deadly collapse
The other four victims – three women and one man – were carrying out cleaning work on the ground level when the scaffolding fell on them.
Two of them were trapped under the structure and lost consciousness while they were being rescued by emergency personnel.
The two women, aged 54 and 68, were rushed to United Christian Hospital in Kwun Tong, where they were pronounced dead.
The other two survivors – a 45-year-old man and a 43-year-old woman – suffered limb and head injuries. They were sent to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where they were in a stable condition.
Detectives from the force’s Kowloon East regional crime unit will work with other departments and experts to establish the cause of the fatal accident.
2 die, 3 injured after scaffolding collapses at Hong Kong construction site
“If human error is determined to be a factor, police will initiate a criminal investigation and pursue prosecution,” Chief Inspector Kwok Ching-yee of the unit said.
At around 11am on Wednesday, detectives from the Kowloon East regional crime unit and officers from the labour and buildings departments went to the Kai Tak site to carry out an on-site investigation.
The site is for the 582-flat Pano Harbour housing development by China Resources Land (Overseas) and Poly Property Group. Flat sizes range from 371 to 4,850 square feet, and construction is expected to be completed this year.
