The photo taken from the official Facebook account of Hong Kong Police Force shows the collapsed wall of scaffolding and netting outside a building on Broadwood Road, Happy Valley on Oct 8, 2021.
HONG KONG – One worker was killed in a scaffolding collapse in the Happy Valley neighborhood amid strong wind and heavy rain on Friday morning, the Labour Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government confirmed.
The accident happened at around 10 am Friday amid typhoon signal No 3. The collapsed scaffolding fell onto two cars and blocked traffic on Broadwood Road, Hong Kong police said in a posting on its Facebook page.
A female worker was unconscious when she was rescued from the site, police said. She was sent to Ruttonjee Hospital for treatment where she was certified dead.
READ MORE: HKO: Typhoon signal No 3 expected to remain in force today
The two drivers and five other workers were also rescued from the site. Among them, a man sustained injuries to his hand and was also sent to the hospital for treatment, police said.
Traffic on both directions of the road near Beverly Hill was closed and police advised drivers to divert to other roads.
A spokesman for the Labour Department said the authorities were "highly concerned" about the accident and immediately began an on-site investigation.
"We will complete investigation as soon as possible to identify the cause of the accident, ascertain the liability of the duty holders and recommend improvement measures. We will take actions pursuant to the law if there is any violation of the work safety legislation," said the spokesman.
The Hong Kong Observatory issued the Strong Wind Signal No 3 at around 4:40 am Friday as tropical storm Lionrock intensified. The signal is expected to remain in force for the rest of Friday, the forecaster said.
The photo taken from the official Facebook account of Hong Kong Police Force shows the collapsed wall of scaffolding and netting outside a building on Broadwood Road, Happy Valley on Oct 8, 2021.