The family of a 34-year-old worker who died after falling at a public-housing construction site on Wui Tung Street, part of the Tung Chung Area 103 development, says it has received information that he may have fallen together with the work platform. The family relayed the account through the Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims Limited on October 15.
The accident happened on October 7, while the worker was dismantling a platform used in removing temporary supports for a crane. He fell from the 13th floor to a platform on the second floor and died in hospital. In an earlier preliminary account, the Housing Department said he was wearing a safety belt but its other end was suspected not to have been attached to a secure point.
The family and the association said that if he fell with the platform, the accident may also involve the dismantling procedure. They questioned whether the platform had been adequately supported and secured before it was taken apart, and called on the contractor, the Housing Department and the Labour Department to clarify the initial sequence of events.
The departments’ October 13 replies did not answer whether he fell with the platform; both said the investigation was ongoing and they could not provide further details. The Labour Department said it was investigating the cause, while the Housing Department said it was following up and had instructed the contractor to co-operate with the investigation. It had also instructed the contractor to suspend relevant site works, while the Labour Department issued a temporary stop-work notice covering the contractor’s erection, alteration, dismantling and use of such platforms on the building exterior.
The family and the association have urged the relevant parties to release basic information about the accident so other worksites can review whether their own arrangements are appropriate and safe.