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The woman was taken to Prince of Wales Hospital for treatment. Photo: Handout

Hong Kong woman, 85, injured by falling tree branch in Sha Tin, third in series of similar incidents

  • She is sent to Prince of Wales Hospital with head and leg injuries
  • Others hurt in two similar incidents involving tree branches over recent days

A falling tree branch injured an elderly pedestrian in Hong Kong on Tuesday, the third such incident in the past fortnight, sparking calls for better citywide inspection and trimming.

The two-metre candlenut tree branch struck the 85-year-old woman on Chik Shun Street in Sha Tin, causing injuries to her head and leg, police said. She was sent to Prince of Wales Hospital for treatment.

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A police spokesman said emergency services were called at about 8.30am to the incident involving the 15-metre-high tree. Workers were also sent to remove the branch and check the tree.

A spokesman for the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, which manages the candlenut, said an initial inspection showed the tree and nearby ones were in good health and the overall structure of each one was strong, adding the collapse of the branch could be related to bad weather in recent days.

He said the tree was estimated to be about 30 years old and was last inspected on March 30, when nothing abnormal was found. Complaints about the tree being overgrown were received on December 23 and it was trimmed two days later, the spokesman added.

Jim Chi-yung said structural defects led to the collapse of the branch in two recent cases. Photo: Sam Tsang

Tree expert Jim Chi-yung, a professor at Education University, said the mechanical strength of the wood was relatively weak and branches could snap easily under strong winds.

“The [tree’s] water sprout snapped because it was long, thick and heavy and most of its leaves were located towards the end of the branch,” he said.

On Monday, a 62-year-old man suffered head, neck and back injuries when a four-metre branch broke off from another candlenut tree and fell on him on Lung Wan Street in Sheung Shui at about 4.30pm. He was sent to North District Hospital for treatment.

Jim said structural defects led to the collapse of the branch in both cases, adding that proper tree management could have prevented the accidents.

He said the government should carry out better inspection and trimming of this kind of tree across the city, especially in heavily populated areas.

On June 5, three pedestrians escaped serious injury from a falling tree branch on Ping Ting Road, Choi Hung.

Police said the branch, which was several metres long, broke off on a slope, injuring the three passers-by. The two men and a woman mainly suffered scratches and were sent to United Christian Hospital for treatment.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Elderly woman hit by falling tree branch
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