Hong Kong labour chief says authorities open to revising work safety codes for confined spaces, after 2 killed in suspected gas leak

Hong Kong’s labour chief on Saturday said authorities were open to revising safety codes for working in confined spaces, after two men were killed last month when they became trapped in an underground chamber filled with suspected toxic gas.

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said the government would at various points review its health and safety protocols for workers operating in confined spaces to determine if any revisions were required.

He added that authorities would draw lessons from last month’s accident that saw two workers killed in the suspected biogas leak underground at a construction site managed by rail giant the MTR Corporation in the West Kowloon Cultural District.

2 Hong Kong workers killed by suspected biogas leak at MTR Corp-managed site

“We will talk with the sector based on the latest situation. If necessary, we plan to revise the code for safety and health at work in confined spaces,” Sun said.

“One possible direction is to make better use of technology to see if there are ways to better ensure work safety in confined spaces can be further improved.”

The minister also discussed the Labour Department’s citywide check of confined spaces and said it was making good progress, with inspectors issuing warnings and improvement notices wherever necessary.

On September 24, 63-year-old Lau Ho-cheong and 61-year-old Kwok For-kee died after the pair were trapped in an underground tube for more than 12 hours.

Call for better construction supervision in Hong Kong after 3 workers die

Police and firefighters found the two men unconscious at the underground site after receiving a report on the same day from construction workers, who said the pair had not left the area since the day before.

Lau and Kwok were taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Yau Ma Tei, where they were later declared dead.

The MTR Corp earlier said the two men were repairing seawater cooling pipes linked to an air-conditioning system for the neighbouring Elements shopping centre. The mall was developed and run by the rail giant.

A project manager for the construction site and a subcontractor were later arrested and charged with manslaughter.