Shocking video shows scaffolding crashing 30 stories from a Hong Kong high-rise during the approach of a tropical storm Friday — trapping motorists in their cars and killing a female construction worker.
Clips posted online show the traditional bamboo scaffolding suddenly tumbling in high winds and heavy rains at 10 a.m., completely covering the road outside the Beverly Hill estate tower.
Nearly 20 fire engines and eight ambulances raced to the scene, where at least two motorists were trapped in their cars under the bamboo that had stretched to the 30th floor, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) said.
A 55-year-old female construction worker was crushed in the wreckage, and it took an hour and 20 minutes to reach her in the perilous conditions sparked by the approach of Tropical Storm Lionrock, the outlet said.
She was unconscious when they found her and she was pronounced dead at a local hospital, officials told the paper.
One of her male colleagues was freed from the wreckage without injury, and the rest of the crew of seven was found safe.
However, two drivers became trapped in their vehicles under the debris of the scaffolding, which had measured about 330 feet by 500 feet, SCMP said.
One suffered minor injuries when a piece of bamboo smashed through the windshield, officials said.
The Hong Kong Observatory reported that Tropical Storm Lionrock was southwest of the regional financial hub, which has a population of 7.5 million. Maximum sustained winds were measured at 38 miles per hour.
Elsewhere in China, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the China Meteorological Administration issued warnings of possible landslides and flooding in the north and west, including the provinces of Shanxi, Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu.
A flood warning was also issued along the middle and lower segments of the Yellow River, China’s second-longest, which has a long history of bursting its banks but in recent years has seen water levels drop considerably because of overuse.
With Post wires