Hong Kong man, 38, dies while connecting solar panels to power supply amid rainfall at city’s science park
- Electrician found unconscious on top of building at Hong Kong Science Park; victim pronounced dead soon after arriving at hospital
- Police say preliminary findings suggest man was electrocuted while hooking up solar panels to power supply at top of building during rainy spell
A man was killed in an industrial accident at the Hong Kong Science Park in a suspected case of electrocution as he connected some solar panels to a power supply amid rainfall on Sunday morning.
The 38-year-old electrician was found unconscious at around 11.30am in a room at the top of a building on Science Park East Avenue. The site spans 22 hectares (54 acres) in Sha Tin and Tai Po, and offers laboratories and shared facilities to technology companies.
An ambulance was dispatched after his colleagues called for emergency assistance, with responders finding the man had no pulse.
The electrician was rushed to Prince of Wales Hospital in Sha Tin but was pronounced dead soon after arriving.
Police said their preliminary findings suggested the man was hooking up solar panels to an electricity supply during a rainy period in the morning, adding that officers were investigating the cause of the accident.
A Labour Department spokesman said it had dispatched personnel after being notified of the incident and would conduct its own investigation into the accident.
Electric shocks have caused multiple deaths in the city over the years.
A 38-year-old worker died in August after he was electrocuted while working on a false ceiling at a construction site for 11 Skies, a multipurpose complex located near the city’s airport and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.
A retiree, 63, was electrocuted in October of last year as he showered at his village home in Sai Kung’s Yim Tin Tsai.
The villager, a volunteer with conservation initiative Salt and Light Preservation Centre, was found collapsed in his bathroom.
The year before that, a 70-year-old security guard was found unconscious outside a pump room near his place of work on Castle Peak Road in Yuen Long. The man showed no signs of breathing or a pulse when paramedics arrived.
He was confirmed dead soon after arriving at Pok Oi Hospital.
Police at the time said a preliminary investigation suggested the man could have died from an electric shock.