Three men were injured on Tuesday when a rubbish truck was crushed by a collapsing noise barrier that had been hit by an out-of-control excavator.

The excavator rolled down a slope at a construction site in Lin Tak Road, Lam Tin at around 9.40am, firefighters said.

The drivers of both vehicles were among those hurt, but were able to free themselves and were said to have suffered minor injuries.

A passenger was trapped in the truck and firefighters spent about two hours freeing him.

“After conducting a risk assessment and stabilising the injured person, the Disaster Response and Rescue Team arranged a crane to secure and lift the excavator and the stone block, while simultaneously using explosive tools to create enough space to enable us to rescue him,” Assistant Divisional Officer Kao Chung-lei said.

The three men aged between 25 to 50, were conscious when taken to United Christian Hospital for treatment.

Police said they were investigating the cause of the incident.

The Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union said frontline staff and inspectors should do more to ensure site safety.

“Working on-site we have safety personnel and construction workers. They all bear significant responsibility. In situations like this, it's important to find out whether the frontline construction workers and management did their jobs properly," said chairman Chau Sze-kit.

Meanwhile, Edward Ma from the Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims said the group is really worried about serious industrial accidents occurring two days in a row, adding that safety awareness is still lacking.

Eleven people were injured in a scaffolding collapse at a construction site in Kai Tak on Monday.

The code of practice on bamboo scaffolding safety was revised in October, requiring workers to hold a valid safety training certificate before carrying out such works.

Labour minister Chris Sun said on Tuesday that the administration would hold a conference with relevant stakeholders to seek improvements in the industry workflow.

“Apart from looking into whether or not those involved, have fully complied with the code of practice, we have to look at, which is why we're going to hold a stakeholders conference, inviting not just those involved in scaffolding work, but also the principal contractors as well as those responsible for installing external glass walls,” he said.

“It's because we have to look at not just the scaffolding work itself, but also the workflow, and also the related work procedures.”

He added the government will step up its inspections, as well as take enforcement action against those violating the law.
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Last updated: 2025-01-14 HKT 16:50