Will Hong Kong ever solve its killer-windows problem? Dense city, typhoons and loose enforcement a potent mix for falling panes

Fatal case on bustling street in January calls to mind hair-raising phenomenon where besides looking before crossing roads, one may want to consider looking up

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A window that fell from The Mira in Tsim Sha Tsui, killing a woman. Photo: Edmond So

Published: 12:00pm, 25 May 2019Updated: 12:20pm, 25 May 2019

Just before 10.30am on January 21 this year, a tourist from Foshan, Guangdong province, was hit by a window that fell 16 floors from The Mira Hong Kong in the bustling shopping district of Tsim Sha Tsui.

The woman, 24, was walking with her boyfriend along main thoroughfare Nathan Road when the tragedy struck.

She was declared dead at Queen Elizabeth Hospital at 12.16pm, while her partner suffered minor injuries from the shattered glass.

A cleaner, 39, who had opened the locked window while working in the hotel room, was arrested by police. Authorities would later give the five-star hotel a month to conduct inspections on all its windows.

In a city where the humidity can top 90 per cent, building structures and installations are prone to oxidation, which leads to corrosion of rivets and screws often used to secure aluminium window frames.

This is on top of damage wrought by the city’s intense typhoon season, which can bring monster storms that shake buildings – Typhoon Mangkhut last year led to some 500 reports of home damage, including 100 windows blown out from the 20-storey One Harbourfront office tower in Hung Hom.