A 62-year-old worker has died after falling from a six-metre-high (20-foot) platform while conducting plane repairs at Hong Kong International Airport, triggering an investigation by the Labour Department.

Police received a report at 8.35am on Monday that a worker had been injured at a site operated by the Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company (Haeco).

“Preliminary investigations have shown that while the worker was repairing a plane on-site, he accidentally fell from a six-metre work platform,” a police spokesman said.

Officers said the worker, identified by his surname Sin, was carrying out maintenance work on an aircraft atop a mobile platform when he suddenly lost his footing and plunged to the ground.

He suffered severe head injuries and was rendered unconscious on impact.

Paramedics transported him to North Lantau Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead despite resuscitation efforts.

Source: South China Morning Post/The Standard