Hong Kong worker dies after being trapped under abandoned cargo loader near airport
- Worker, 33, was trapped under ‘abandoned special use vehicle’, police say after updating earlier report on case
- Incident occurred at ground support engineering company near airport
A recycling firm employee was killed after being trapped under an abandoned cargo loader near Hong Kong International Airport on Thursday, with a labour rights group expressing concern over occupational safety and saying it had looked into 74 work-related deaths this year.
Police updated details of the case on Thursday evening after earlier saying the victim had been stuck under a 10-tonne, 10-metre-long (33-foot) elevating platform, based on the account of a witness.
They said they received a call at 12.49pm from a worker reporting that the 33-year-old man was unconscious after being trapped under an “abandoned special use vehicle” .
The incident occurred at a ground support engineering company on 7 Catering Road West near the airport.
A police spokesman said the Fire Services Department dispatched a disaster rescue team and North Lantau Hospital sent personnel to the scene. He added the worker was later declared dead at the scene.
“After our initial investigation, we suspect that when the [victim] was cutting the vehicle, he was crushed and injured by a part that accidentally fell,” the spokesman said.
Police said the vehicle was a four-by-12-metre loader that transferred freight to the airport, and the victim worked for a recycling contractor.