Hong Kong worker loses part of right forearm during routine escalator inspection at public hospital
- Hospital promises to cooperate with investigations and do its best to provide appropriate treatment
- Worker, 50, receives surgery at accident and emergency department
Hong Kong authorities are investigating an industrial accident in which a worker had part of his “right forearm ripped off” while inspecting an escalator in a public hospital on Saturday afternoon.
Authorities said the 50-year-old man remained in critical condition as of Saturday night, hours after he was injured during a routine inspection of the machine at Tseung Kwan O Hospital in Hang Hau.
A hospital spokesman said staff there had immediately called the police and notified the relevant bodies, including the Hospital Authority.
“We express our deepest sympathies to the injured and will do our best to provide appropriate treatment,” he said.
The escalator connects the hospital’s ground floor and the lower ground floor. Blood stains marked the surrounding area.
Preliminary investigations by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department ruled out mechanical failure, a spokesman said, adding the escalator was last inspected on February 11 and underwent scheduled maintenance on June 17.