Eleven people on Monday were injured in a scaffolding collapse at a construction site in Kai Tak, with four in critical condition and one seriously hurt.

Emergency personnel received reports of the incident on Shing Cheong Road at around 4pm.

The bamboo structure, measuring 60 by 20 metres, was said to give way at the site where the New Acute Hospital is being built.

One worker was temporarily trapped five metres above ground after the collapse, according to firefighters, who said the rescue operation took about an hour.

Given the seriousness of the incident, police said they are working with government departments to conduct in-depth investigations.

"We would see whether anyone should bear criminal responsibility... The cause of the scaffolding collapse is one of the directions of our investigation," said senior Inspector Li Ka-wai of the Kowloon East regional crime unit.

The project at the Kai Tak Development Area is set to be one of the largest hospitals in Hong Kong, with 2,400 beds, and 37 operating theatres.

The Hospital Authority (HA) expressed concerns over the incident and said the injured workers were hired by the contractor, China State Construction Engineering (Hong Kong) Limited.

"The incident occurred at one of the buildings at the new acute hospital construction site, where curtain wall installation works were undergone," the authority said in a statement.

"All scaffolding work at the site will be temporarily suspended, and the HA reserves the right to hold the construction contractor accountable."

The authority has instructed the contractor to implement all necessary safety measures as soon as possible and requested it to thoroughly investigate the cause of the incident and to submit a report.

Fay Siu from the Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims noted that a similar incident happened in Kai Tak almost a year ago, saying it showed that there are safety hazards when bamboo scaffolding is used.

"The government should review the safety of bamboo scaffolding, because they are not made from a very stable material," she said.

"If we are continuing to use bamboo scaffolding, there should be better inspections. The use of metal scaffolding should be encouraged too."

The Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union has also strongly urged labour authorities to conduct an in-depth probe and make its report public.

"The Labour Department must seriously learn from the hard lessons of past industrial accidents, quickly review regulatory and enforcement loopholes, swiftly address deficiencies, and effectively strengthen supervision and inspection work," it said.
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Last updated: 2025-01-13 HKT 21:50