Tree worker died in crane accident

A female tree trimmer died when the extendable arm of a crane truck snapped, making the platform which she and a male colleague were working on plunge five meters before slamming onto a vehicle.

Tsang Choi-yu, 55, died in the accident. Her colleague, 46, suffered from waist injury.

At around 9am, they were working 10 meters above the ground on an elevated platform at the intersection of Water Street and Third Street.

The crane supporting the platform snapped, and the platform plunged until it was three meters above the ground.

Tsang was unconscious and was certified dead when sent to hospital. She and her colleague belonged to Leisure and Cultural Services Department's tree management team for Island West district.

The accident was believed to be caused by the malfunction of the hydraulic system, said Lo Kok-keung, lecturer in Traffic Accident Reconstruction in Open University of Hong Kong.

He said the platform fell from at least four meters high at a speed of 31 kilometer per hour, snapping the jib which made the platform flung mid-air and crashed into the mobile crane.

The hitting force may be as high as 138 pounds, which could make the workers’ skull fractured if they hit some metals, he added.

“The safety belt only helps you from falling from the working platform, but this time they couldn’t help as the workers fell together with the platform,” said Lo.