The Government is highly concerned about the serious fatal work accident involving a tower crane that collapsed at a construction site on Anderson Road in Sau Mau Ping yesterday and is taking a series of follow-up actions to prevent similar tragedies.

The Labour Department issued suspension notices to the contractor concerned suspending the operation of all tower cranes on the site after the accident.

The department will also inspect all the construction sites under the same contractor in Hong Kong and will issue suspension notices today, suspending the operation of all tower cranes on the sites until the department is satisfied that measures to abate the relevant risk have been taken.

It launched a special enforcement operation yesterday, targeting construction sites using tower cranes in the city, checking their compliance with the statutory requirements and the Code of Practice for Safe Use of Tower Cranes, in particular on the standing and supporting conditions of the cranes.

The department will complete the investigation of the accident as soon as possible to identify its cause and ascertain the liability of the duty holders.

The Development Bureau has instructed works departments to carry out inspections of all public works sites with tower crane operation.

It also initiated the procedures for imposing regulating actions pursuant to the established mechanism to suspend the main contractor of the Sau Mau Ping construction site in question from tendering for public works contracts.

The bureau said works departments have completed the inspection of the 31 public works sites under their purview with tower crane operation to ensure that the relevant cranes are safe for use with an aim to preventing the recurrence of similar incidents.