A maintenance worker replacing LED lights on the sixth floor of the Taipei 101 skyscraper yesterday plunged to his death, police said.
The worker, surnamed Lee (李), fell at about 3am to the roof of the second floor from a work platform outside the sixth floor, they said, adding that Lee, in his mid-30s, was found dead by rescuers arriving at the scene.
A colleague of Lee’s, surnamed Pan (潘), who was working on the same platform during the incident, was found safe on a narrow ledge outside the sixth floor, the police added.
An investigation into the cause of the accident is ongoing, they said.
An examination of the scene showed that Lee had failed to buckle his safety harness while working on the platform, Taipei Labor Inspection Office head Chiang Ming-chih (江明志) said.
If the investigation shows that Lee’s employer must take responsibility for the incident, the employer could face up to three years in prison and a NT$300,000 fine, Chiang added.
The work platform passed safety checks on July 8, the Taipei 101 management said in a news release.
Taipei 101 is cooperating with police in determining the cause of the accident, it added.
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