Three construction workers died earlier today in an industrial accident in Hung Hom after the underground tunnel that they were in flooded suddenly.
The incident took place at around 2:50pm, at a CLP construction site near the junction of Gillies Avenue South and Baker Street. According to a statement from contractors Kum Shing Construction, a group of four workers were in the five meter-deep tunnel when it was suddenly flooded by a water from a ruptured pipe nearby. The foreman told the workers to get out, but only one man made it out in time.
A total of 100 firefighters, 17 fire engines, and six ambulances were deployed.
Two of the workers, aged 23 and 49, were pulled out of the tunnel within 10 minutes after emergency services arrived and taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where they were pronounced dead. A third man, aged 47, who was found by firefighters 50 meters into the tunnel at about 4pm, was also confirmed dead shortly afterwards.
A senior fire officer from Hung Hom Fire Station, Cheung Kwong-yuen, said the tunnel was 1.4 meters in diameter and filled with one meter of water.
It was originally reported that the workers had fallen into the pit, but Chow Luen-kiu, chairman of the Construction Industry Employees General Union, told reporters that the men had been at the bottom laying 132kv cables for CLP.
According to CLP Senior Director Henry Ho, the construction had been in progress since March and was expected to be completed by August. “We conducted risk assessments and looked at government records ahead of construction to ensure safety.”
“We are still collecting all the relevant information to facilitate the investigation of the government regulatory party. At this moment the most important issue for us […] is how to take care of [the workers’] family,” Ho said.
Rex Wong, executive director and chief operating officer of Kum Shing, told reporters on the scene that the men were killed by “a sudden influx of fluid into an underground site” and that the company was “very anxious to find out the root cause” of the accident, which he said was “not a common situation”.
Wong said that in light of the incident, Kum Shing had suspended all of its underground excavation projects for the time being. He added that Kum Shing will provide the families of the deceased workers with HKD100,000 to meet their immediate needs, and provide further assistance if necessary.
Authorities sealed off the scene after firefighters recorded hydrogen sulfide near the tunnel, but Towngas inspectors who examined the site said they found no gas leaks.
Four people who work and live in the area told a Coconuts Hong Kong reporter that they didn’t hear an explosion or see water flowing from the site, but said the neighborhood smelled “like a sewer” after the accident.
A man who was in the area, surnamed Chu, told Coconuts Hong Kong that CLP was responsible for the accident and should have reminded its workers of the dangers of the construction project.
All traffic between Hung Hom South Road and Baker Street was resumed at 6pm.
