2 Hong Kong construction workers die after being pulled from manhole at worksite near airport
- The two men were unconscious when pulled free, while colleagues who tried to rescue them are in serious condition after inhaling what was believed to be toxic sewage gases
- Twelve fire engines and five ambulances raced to the scene at about 9.30am after word of the industrial accident on Lantau Island’s Chun Kwan Road was received
Two construction workers died after firefighters pulled them unconscious from a manhole on Wednesday at a construction site near Hong Kong airport.
The two men – Fan Chu-leung, 34, and Zhao Gao, 38 – were pronounced dead in hospital where they had been taken for treatment, while three colleagues who tried to rescue them complained of feeling unwell after inhaling suspected toxic sewage gases.
The Fire Services Department sent 12 appliances and five ambulances to the site after being notified about the trapped workers at around 9.30am. About 60 firefighters and paramedics were deployed to the scene on Lantau Island’s Chun Kwan Road.
All five were taken to North Lantau Hospital for treatment, according to police.
The three men, aged 34 to 65, who had tried to save their colleagues were in serious condition, a government spokeswoman said at 11.15am.