2 injured by piece of bamboo that fell from scaffolding in Hong Kong

Two men have been injured by a piece of bamboo that fell from scaffolding outside an industrial building in Hong Kong, with one left bleeding from the incident.

Police said they were alerted shortly before 10am on Saturday about a man being hit on the forehead by a piece of bamboo that fell from scaffolding outside the 16-storey Wong King Industrial Building in San Po Kong.

One man was struck on his forehead and left bleeding, while another reported chest pains to officers. Both men were sent to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Jordan.

“Both men said they were walking past [the site] and were hit by the bamboo,” a force spokesman said.

Wong King Industrial Building is a 55-year-old mixed-use building completed in 1970, according to property agency Centaline Commercial’s records.

Bamboo scaffolding is used in most construction projects in Hong Kong, but accidents in recent years have raised concerns about its safety.