One dies, Nigerian construction worker missing after platform collapsed on Hong Kong Zhuhai-Macao Bridge
A Nigerian construction worker is still missing and a Nepali man died after a temporary work platform collapsed on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge on Wednesday afternoon, March 29th.
The 41-year-old Nigerian simply identified as Onwuka and two Nepali men, Phapa Paul Denedick, 20 and Gurung Anel, 22, were dismantling a temporary work platform underneath a completed three-meter-high viaduct.
Work began on the bridge in 2009 and is situated at the waters of Lingdingyang in the Pearl River Estuary. It is a mega-sized sea crossing linking Hong Kong, Zhuhai city in Guangdong Province and Macau.
The construction cost of the main bridge was an estimated 15.73 billion yuan (HK$2.28 billion). It is now in the final stage of construction.
At 3:30pm, they were dragged into the sea after the platform collapsed. Denedick saved himself by unzipping his safety straps, but his Nepali colleague died and the Nigerian could not be found.
The cables that snapped off the collapsing platform also injured two others on the bridge deck – 31-year-old Pakistani worker Iqbal Sasil Fasil and a 49-year-old Hong Kong man, an Apple Daily report said.
The Labour Department of Hong Kong immediately deployed staff to the scen upon receiving a report of the accident and has been conducting an investigation into the cause.
Meanwhile, work in that area of the construction site has been suspended, according to a government press release.
Below are current photos from the construction site…
