Dog on leash in Hong Kong strangled after running out of lift as doors closed, marking second such case in 3 months
- Animal was among three pets taken by domestic helper for walk in Kennedy Town, with worker sustaining hand injuries in incident
- In June, canine in same situation cheated death after security guard swiftly stopped lift
A dog on a leash was strangled at a Hong Kong block of flats after it ran out of a lift just before the doors closed on Tuesday, marking the second such incident in the city in three months.
The canine was among three dogs taken by a 46-year-old domestic helper for a walk in Kennedy Town in Western district before the accident occurred at around 9.47am.
After the walk, the helper was waiting for a lift on the ground floor of Kam Ho Court on Belcher’s Street with the pets, according to police.
“As the lift doors opened, she brought the dogs inside,” a source familiar with the case said. “When the doors were closing, one of the dogs suddenly ran out.”
He said the doors closed on the leash and the animal was dragged upwards. The case at the 23-storey block came to light when a security guard alerted police.
A force spokesman said the helper suffered hand injuries and was sent to Queen Mary Hospital for treatment.
An investigation was said to have found nothing suspicious about the animal’s death.
Tuesday’s case marked the second such incident in the city in the past three months, with the first being non-fatal.
On June 26, a schnauzer on a leash cheated death when its owner got into a lift and left the pet outside on the ground-floor lobby of Boundary Building on Tung Chau Street in Sham Shui Po.
Security footage showed the schnauzer being dragged up and struggling in the air before a quick-thinking security guard intervened and stopped the lift.
The animal struggled for about 10 seconds before it broke free of its leash and landed on the ground.
Firefighters were called to free the dog owner, who was trapped in the lift on the first floor. The dog was later returned to its owner.
