Hong Kong refuse worker dies after ‘falling 35 floors down rubbish chute’ in Tuen Mun residential tower
- Victim Kwan Hau-kei thought to have lost his balance while emptying bins on top floor of high-rise building
- Police suspect he had been lying injured for several hours in ground-floor bin before colleagues found him
A refuse worker died on Friday after he was thought to have plunged 35 floors down a rubbish chute in a Hong Kong public housing block.
Kwan Hau-kei, 58, a part-time cleaner, lay fatally injured in a bin at the bottom of the Tuen Mun residential tower for potentially several hours, before he was found and sent to hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
The Labour Department has launched an investigation into the incident at King Lok House of Shan King Estate in Ming Kum Road.
Kwan was assigned to remove rubbish from public corridors between the 19th and top floors of the 35-storey building.
He was found to be missing when a security guard noticed the refuse had not been cleaned up, leading him to call Kwan’s supervisor.
His workmates went to the 35th-floor refuse room and found the chute open, but no trace of Kwan. The size of the chute opening is estimated to be 45cm by 45cm.