Hong Kong workers pray to ghosts
June 30, 2004 http://cnews.canoe.ca
HONG KONG (AP) - A fire extinguisher sprung a leak and shot 12 storeys into the air, taking off a construction worker's arm in a freak accident that prompted his co-workers' prayers to appease angry spirits, local media reported Wednesday.
The accident occurred in a building many believe is haunted after a fire eight years ago killed 40 people and injured 81. Workers were demolishing the Garley Building to make way for a shopping mall when the sudden leak in the fire extinguisher propelled it into the air Monday.
The 36-year-old man who lost his arm, identified only by the surname So, remained hospitalized in serious condition Wednesday, government officials said.
Newspapers and TV footage showed workers in safety helmets praying Tuesday in front of a small altar full of incense and food amid the rubble at the demolition site.
Ghost-appeasing rituals, once common in traditional Chinese society, are rare in modern Hong Kong.