Construction worker dies in Hong Kong tunnel after being hit by runaway truck
- Victim, a 39-year-old man from Nepal, was working on site in Sha Tau Kok
- Video footage shows driver desperately trying to stop vehicle from rolling away
A 39-year-old construction worker died on Thursday after being run over by a runaway truck in a Hong Kong tunnel.
The Nepalese man was killed when the vehicle rolled backwards and knocked him over, before crashing into the wall of the tunnel in the border town of Sha Tau Kok.
Emergency personnel were called at about 9.43am after the incident at the junction of the Wo Hang section of Sha Tau Kok Road and Wo Keng Shan Road.
“Initial investigations show that the truck began to move backwards soon after its driver pulled over and left the vehicle,” a police source said.
Video footage shows a man opening the right-hand door of the truck, and attempting to stop it rolling away.
According to police, the victim, who was a Hong Kong identity card holder, lost consciousness after being hit in the head. He was taken to North District Hospital, in Sheung Shui, where he was pronounced dead at 10.32am.
The Labour Department said they were investigating the accident.
“The Labour Department immediately deployed staff to the scene upon receiving a report of the incident, and is now conducting an investigation to look into its cause,” it said in a statement.
