CNN
—
A butcher died on Friday trying to slaughter a pig in Hong Kong, city police said.
The 61-year-old butcher, who worked at the Sheung Shui slaughterhouse on the city’s northern outskirts near its border with mainland China, was knocked down by the struggling pig and injured by 40 centimeters of meat (15 inches). ax, police told CNN.
The butcher was about to kill the pig – which he had previously shot with an electric stun gun – when he regained consciousness and knocked it down, police said.
A colleague found the man unconscious with the cleaver in his hand and a wound in his left foot, police said. He was taken to hospital and later pronounced dead.
Police said the cause of death has not yet been determined.
The city’s labor department said it has launched an investigation.
“The Department of Labor is saddened by the passing of the individual and extends its deepest sympathy to his family,” he said in a statement.
“We will complete the investigation as soon as possible to identify the cause of the accident, determine the responsibility of those responsible and recommend measures for improvement. We will take action in accordance with the law for violations of workplace safety laws,” a department spokesperson said.
The city’s Department of Food and Environmental Health, which operates livestock slaughterhouses, offered condolences to the man’s family in a statement.