An elderly Hong Kong woman was killed today after triangular piece of metal fell from a temporary platform 28 stories up, and landed on her outside of the shopping arcade of the Mayfair Gardens development in Tsing Yi.
According to Apple Daily, the platform had been installed outside of a flat on the 28th floor that was undergoing renovation. After being struck by the one-meter metal part, the woman was sent to Yan Chai Hospital in an unconscious state, only to be certified dead later.
The victim, reportedly in her 60s, was with her grandson, whose screams of “grandma” alerted passersby, who called police. A man, who was believed to be the woman’s son, rushed to the scene and accompanied her and the boy to the hospital, according to Apple Daily.
After inspecting the 28th floor, police reportedly arrested one man. Under Hong Kong law, allowing an object to fall from a height is a criminal offense punishable by a fine or up to six months in prison.
This is not the first time that construction materials have fallen from scaffolding. Last year, a 2.5-meter bamboo pole fell from a construction site in Sheung Wan, striking a 25-year-old passerby, who suffered minor injuries.
Even more recently, falling windows have been to blame for injuries and deaths.
A a mainland tourist was killed by a window that fell from a hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui in January, and two elderly women were injured after a window fell on them from a Sham Shui Po building in March.
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