Woman Killed By Falling Window In Tsim Sha Tsui

A visitor from the mainland died on Monday morning after being hit by a window which fell from the 16th floor of a hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui.

The 24-year-old woman from Guangdong had only arrived in Hong Kong a short while before.

She was walking along Nathan Road when the 130 centimetre-long window fell from The Mira hotel at around 10.30am, smashing her on the head.

A man with her was slightly injured and the pair were taken to hospital where the woman later died.

Senior inspector Chan Ka-ying said the window fell out when it was opened by a cleaner. The 39-year-old female worker was arrested on suspicion of allowing an object to fall from height, causing danger or injury.

"She was the one that opened the window and that directly led to it falling down. But we will look into other aspects, like the liability of other parties, such as the hotel and the management," Chan said.

Police said they were looking into the maintenance records for the window and whether it was normal for it to have been opened. Only staff have the keys to open the hotel's windows.

The force also said the Buildings Department would be issuing an inspection order for the hotel to make sure all the other windows are safe.

People who were near the hotel at the time of the accident reported hearing a loud bang. Some said they were now worried about the danger posed by windows coming loose.

"I would consider, maybe, being more careful now...either walking under somewhere that has a cover or maybe looking up before I walk anywhere," said Maggie Lau, who was passing by at the time.

The Miramar Group, which owns the hotel, expressed its deepest condolences and pledged to do whatever it could to assist the dead woman's family.

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Last updated: 2019-01-21 HKT 18:17