Hong Kong – Crane incident at construction site on Chi Shin Street, Tseung Kwan O

     A spokesman for the Architectural Services Department (ArchSD) today (December 28) said that the Government was deeply concerned about a crane incident occurred at a construction site on Chi Shin Street in Tseung Kwan O. The contractor and sub-contractors were requested to suspend the operation of the crane immediately and cordon off the site where the crane located to safeguard the workers’ safety.
      
     At about 9.45am this morning, the jib of a crane while operating on the roof of a building at the construction site of the Immigration Headquarters on Chi Shin Street in Tseung Kwan O suddenly lowered down slowly. It then stopped and rested on top of an external wall of the building. There was no casualty in the incident.
      
     After the incident, the ArchSD and the Development Bureau (DEVB) summoned the management of the contractor to provide an account of the causes, and to discuss the follow-up actions and improvement measures. According to the site inspection and the footage of the monitoring system of the contractor, the incident is preliminary suspected to be related to mechanical malfunction. The ArchSD is reviewing the inspection and maintenance records for the roof crane and will carry out a detailed investigation with the Labour Department.
      
     As the contractor was involved in a fatal accident at the same construction site in May this year, the DEVB has ordered it to arrange for an independent safety audit and submit a report within two weeks. After reviewing the report, the DEVB will take appropriate follow up actions in accordance with the public works procurement and monitoring mechanism. The DEVB has also requested works departments to step up inspections of similar roof cranes at public works sites.