CNN —
A butcher died while trying to slaughter a pig in Hong Kong on Friday, the city’s 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 to the ground by the struggling pig and suffered a 40-centimeter (15-inch) meat wound, police told CNN . The butcher was about to kill the pig — which he had already shot with a stun gun — when it regained consciousness and knocked him over, police said.
A colleague found the man unconscious with a saber in his hand and a wound on his left leg, the police said. He was taken to hospital and later pronounced dead.
Police said the cause of death is yet to be determined.
The city’s Department of Labor said it has launched an investigation.
“The Ministry of Labor is saddened by the death of the individual and extends its deepest sympathies to his family,” it said in a statement.
“We will complete the investigation as soon as possible to determine the cause of the incident, determine the responsibility of the employees and recommend measures for improvement. We will take action in accordance with the law if there is a breach of occupational safety legislation,” said a spokesperson for the department.
The city’s Department of Food and Environmental Hygiene, which runs livestock slaughterhouses, offered its condolences to the man’s family in a statement.
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