Labour Department investigating fatal lorry accident

The Labour Department says it is highly concerned about a fatal work accident at a warehouse in Hung Shui Kiu, where a man died after being sandwiched in between two vehicles.

In a statement published late on Thursday night, the department said the deceased, who was in his 60s, was attempting to stop a lorry from sliding forward when he got trapped.

The accident apparently occurred on Wednesday evening, but was only discovered on Thursday afternoon – with the man certified dead at the scene.

The department said it was saddened by the death and expressed sympathy to the family of the dead man.

A spokesman said the department will assist the family in claiming employees’ compensation and will closely follow up on the case.

“We commenced an immediate on-site investigation as soon as we were notified of the accident and issued a suspension notice to the employer/occupier concerned, suspending the use of the lorry-mounted crane at the open storage yard,” the spokesman added.

“The employer/occupier cannot resume the use of the crane until the Labour Department is satisfied that measures to abate the relevant risk have been taken.”

Officials said an investigation will be completed as soon as possible to identify the cause of the accident and ascertain liability.

Legal action will be taken if there is any violation of the work safety legislation, they added.