Lift shaft accident in Hong Kong kills six

An accident in Hong Kong has left six people dead. The cleaning staff, who were working in a skyscraper, fell down 17 storeys.

The skyscraper is currently on course to become Hong Kong's highest building. The cleaning staff were situated on a platform which collapsed causing them to fall from the seventeenth floor in a lift shaft down to the tenth. The accident occurred at the The International Commerce Centre which is undergoing construction work. The work is scheduled to finish next year. Donald Tsang, the Chief Executive has already paid a visit to the site of the accident and has promised a full investigation. Three of the injured were taken to hospital but were announced dead on arrival. Three other bodies were later discovered. According to the RTHK news website, Sun Hung Kai, the developer behind the building will be making a payment of HK$1m, approximately $129,000, to the families of those killed in the accident. A decision on further compensation will be made at some point in the future. The centre is scheduled to open next year and when it does, the 118 floor building will become the forth tallest in the world