BEIJING: A tower crane collapse at a construction site, resulting in the death of three workers and injuring six others, is being criminally investigated by Hong Kong police, according to the city's mayor.

Additionally, according to Chief Executive Officer John Lee Ka-chiu on Thursday, similar crane projects under the same contractor were put on hold.

According to him, the police will conduct a thorough investigation to determine what caused the tragedy and then provide information to the coroner's court to determine whether a hearing was necessary.

The site of Sau Mau Ping was re-visited in the morning by detectives from the Kowloon East Regional Crime Unit, who were in charge of overseeing the accident.

Lee expressed his grief and offered his condolences to the victims and the families of the injured. The crime unit will thoroughly investigate what led to the accident in which three people lost their lives.

The Department of Labor will oversee any operation of tower cranes used by this contractor at sites other than suspending the use of other cranes at the Anderson Road site. Their operation will remain suspended till the departmental approval is received.

The department will also look into all comparable crane installations at construction sites across the city.

Labor and Welfare Secretary Chris Sun Yuk-han, who visited the site on Wednesday, said he suspected there were "obvious defects" in the base of the 65-ton crane.

Engineers also pointed to possible poor workmanship in welding the steel beams to the base of the unloaded crane.

The offending construction company, prime contractor and housing society announced that they would assist with the investigation.

On Wednesday, just before 11 a.m., the crane collapsed and collided with six containers being used as temporary offices at the site. Firefighters had to rescue five of the nine workers trapped in some containers.

Three men, an electrician, an engineer and an engineering assistant, died; Their ages ranged from 22 to 41; Two were declared brought dead on the spot and one later died in the hospital.

The engineer was rescued from the rubble seven hours after it fell. Later, he died of his wounds.

According to government data, there were 23 deaths and 3,109 industrial accidents in the construction industry last year. In 2020, there were 2,532 accidents and 18 deaths.

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