A 67-year-old man had his arm torn off in an accident with a printing machine in a Quarry Bay factory yesterday.
Surgeons performed a two-hour operation to re-attach the limb last night but gave up the battle because it was too badly damaged.
Chin Yuk-wah's right arm was ripped off near the shoulder when he tried to pull a copy from the machine in the Wing Wah Printing and Publishing Company in the Wah Ha Factory Building, Shipyard Lane, at around noon.
Mr Chin was said to be in a serious condition in Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital. He has worked at the factory for about 10 years and is married with a son and daughter.
North Point divisional commander Superintendent Patrick Sin Chi-ming believed Mr Chin had failed to follow guidelines in stopping the machine before removing the protective cover and putting his arm inside.
Mr Sin said the hand was not badly damaged but the bones of the arm had been crushed.