A serious industrial accident occurred on Sha Po Road in Kowloon City a few days ago (20th). A lifting platform in mid-air suddenly collapsed and flipped backwards during filming, hitting a boom truck behind, causing at least 8 people on the scene to be injured. The film industry said that according to industry practice, there are 8 people on the lifting platform as a “standard package”, while some engineers estimated that an accident or the overweight of the platform caused the loss of balance. The Labor Department stated that it is investigating the incident and any violations will be dealt with in accordance with the law.

A film crew was filming at the opposite of the Regal Oriental Hotel in Kowloon City last Saturday. There are 3 booms on site, with a reflector hanging on the left, a spotlight on the right, and the boom in the middle is connected to the lifting platform. At 4:30 p.m. on the same day, the elevator suddenly tilted when it reached the 4th floor of the Regal Oriental Hotel, causing 8 people on the elevator to fall to the ground and injured, including 2 photographers and 6 assistants, aged between 32 and 61. All conscious and sent to the hospital for treatment. Photos circulated on the Internet show that the crane carrying the lifting platform fell backwards, with the rear of the car on the ground and the front of the car facing the sky, almost vertically. The lifting platform and supporting columns on the car were pressing once morest another crane parked behind, requiring fire and collapse search and rescue teams to come to the scene to fix the car body.

The film company involved: has bought insurance for the crew

Emperor Films issued a statement stating that an accident occurred during the filming of the film that is being jointly invested and produced with Seven Impressions. The 8 injured were all staff members, and they will fully support and assist the injured. Insurance has been purchased for all crew members before filming begins. Tian Qiwen, spokesperson of the Federation of Hong Kong Film Workers, said that it is not unprecedented to add a crane to shoot on a high platform. Said it is a standard package.” Tian Qiwen also revealed that he knew two of the injured in the accident, who were responsible for operating the rocker arm and the lighting engineer respectively, and both had more than 30 years of experience.

Workbench must wear safety belt

Structural engineer Ni Xueren pointed out that there are too many people on the lifting platform, coupled with the weight of the camera arm, there is a high chance that the overload will cause the lifting platform to lose its balance and cause an accident. He also pointed out that there is a load gauge in the cab of the lift platform to remind the operator of the upper limit of the load at different angles of the lift platform, and people on the lift platform must also wear safety helmets, wear seat belts, and fasten the fence, but the photos of the scene did not See staff wearing relevant gear.

The Labor Department stated that according to the law, employers must provide employees with a safe work system and provide employees with the necessary training; and the guidelines for elevating work platforms also stipulate that the person in charge must ensure that the operator has received training, and the elevating platform should be thoroughly inspected And testing, workbench personnel must wear seat belts, etc. After learning of the accident, the Labor Department immediately dispatched personnel to the scene to investigate. If violations are found, they will be dealt with in accordance with the law.

Originally published on AM730