A preliminary investigation into Thursday’s incident suggested the fender – used to prevent ships from suffering damage while berthing and hitting a sea wall or pier – exploded when the 37-year-old worker was refilling it with gas, according to police.
A spokeswoman for the force said the man was thrown into the air by the force of the explosion, landing on the ground more than 10 metres away.
The worker, who suffered head injuries, was taken to nearby Princess Margaret Hospital, where he later died.
The spokeswoman said the case was being treated as an industrial accident and the department had been informed.
The department said it had sent staff to the scene and was conducting an investigation into the cause of the accident.
The incident was the city’s third fatal industrial accident within 48 hours.
The first happened at a luxury house on Kadoorie Avenue in Kowloon City at 11.39am on Tuesday when a worker, 42, fell off bamboo scaffolding erected around a home undergoing renovation. Emergency workers were called to the scene.
Worker killed by falling piece of metal at Hong Kong construction site
The man, who suffered head injuries, was taken to Kwong Wah Hospital in Yau Ma Tei, where he died.
Police said an initial investigation showed he was responsible for passing bamboo to his colleagues to build scaffolding at the time of the incident.
It was his first working day at the site. He was a father of three and a Hong Kong identity card holder of Pakistani origin.
On Wednesday, a worker, 55, was crushed to death after a four-metre-long piece of metal fell on him at a Tung Yuen Street construction site in Yau Tong at about 11.30am. Police said the man was dismantling a metal structure at the time.
The Labour Department said it would inspect all construction sites by Aggressive Construction Engineering, the contractor involved in the Yau Tong incident. The checks will include scrutiny of work safety systems. It added that it would take action if violations of the law were found.
In September, a fatal accident occurred at a construction site in Sau Mau Ping when a 65-tonne tower crane collapsed, leaving three men dead and six others injured. That site was run by Aggressive Construction Company, which is under Great Harvest Group, also the parent company of Aggressive Construction Engineering.
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The Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union on Wednesday urged the department to carry out thorough investigations into the causes of the first two incidents earlier this week and make public the results.
The union said the department should learn from each industrial accident and strengthen supervision and inspection work.
According to the union, the department was duty-bound to protect the rights and interests of workers, especially in terms of safety, so as to avoid similar accidents from happening.
Siu Sin-man, chief executive of the Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims, said she was shocked and saddened to learn about the latest accident.
Worker killed by falling piece of metal at Hong Kong construction site
According to her group’s tally, 25 fatal industrial accidents have been recorded in 2022 so far, the same as last year’s total, with 17 in construction claiming 20 lives.
Hong Kong is in the midst of a major review of its occupational safety laws, with the Legislative Council scrutinising a bill to increase penalties against contractors and employers for safety lapses that result in injury or death.
While Sin backed the idea of raising penalties against contractors, she argued more had to be done to change the culture at worksites.
“The government should enhance the safety awareness of workers, who should also be trained to voice out whenever they spot any potential risks at worksites,” she said. “A lot of accidents could have been avoided.”
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