Worker, 49, dies hours after collapsing at Hong Kong sewage treatment plant

A contract worker died in hospital hours after collapsing in the basement of a sewage treatment plant on Saturday, with Hong Kong’s Drainage Services Department ordering his employer to investigate.

Department director Ringo Mok Wing-cheong expressed sorrow over the death of the worker and urged the contractor to provide appropriate help to the man’s family, halt the project and investigate the case.

The victim, a 49-year-old man surnamed Tam, was installing electric equipment in the basement of the plant in Wo Mei, Sai Kung.

Colleagues found Tam at about 10am and he was rushed to Tseung Kwan O Hospital for treatment but was pronounced dead at around 8pm.

Police said Tam had been working on a two-metre-high platform at the time, and his clothes were suspected to have become entangled in an electric drill.