In Macau, casino operator Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited has reportedly been ordered to cease construction activities on part of its $1 billion Morpheus hotel tower after Sunday saw a worker fall to her death while painting a ceiling.
According to a Monday report from GGRAsia, Hong Kong-listed Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited has been instructed by Macau’s Labour Affairs Bureau to stop all ‘works at height’ in the areas surrounding the fifth-floor scene of the accident while the authority waits for a ‘detailed report’ into the weekend incident that claimed the life of the 32-year-old female worker.
GGRAsia reported that this is the second time in the last nine months that a worker has lost their life at Morpheus after July saw a 33-year-old man die as a result of being struck by a falling steel beam. This accident led to all construction work on the City of Dreams Macau extension being postponed for almost three weeks while the Labour Affairs Bureau is purportedly moreover set to investigate the possibility that the latest fatality may have been employed illegally.
The Labour Affairs Bureau reportedly stated that the deceased worker had been a Chinese national that died as a result of falling about 23 feet from a suspended platform. The authority purportedly moreover explained that she had been doing painting work at the time of the accident and that all such activities will now only be allowed to resume once it has granted its approval.
Lawrence Ho Yau Lung, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman for Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited, reportedly told GGRAsia that he was ‘not sure yet’ if this latest accident would delay the opening of Morpheus, which was designed by late Iraq-born architect Zaha Hadid. This firm had purportedly intended to begin welcoming guests to the five-star hotel tower by the end of June but could now be forced to push back this deadline.
Ho reportedly detailed that his firm was currently ‘working very closely with our contractor to fully understand the situation’ before declaring that ‘our hearts go out to the family of the worker and the people affected’.
“At this point and time, our number one concern is to work with authorities and the contractor and also to make sure that the family of the deceased is being taken care of,” Ho reportedly told GGRAsia.