Pig Kills Butcher While Being Slaughtered In Hong Kong

Newborn piglets drink milk from a sow at a breeding farm of Best Genetics Group (BGG), a Chinese pig breeding company in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China February 27, 2022. Reuters / TINGSHU WANG

KEY POINTS

The butcher was knocked to the ground by the struggling pig Friday
He sustained a wound from a meat cleaver, police said
He was rushed to the hospital and was later declared dead

A butcher in Hong Kong died while trying to slaughter a pig Friday, the city's police said.

Police told CNN that the 61-year-old butcher, who worked in the Sheung Shui Slaughterhouse on the city's northern outskirts close to its border with mainland China, was knocked to the ground by the struggling pig. He then sustained a wound from a 40-centimeter (15-inch) meat cleaver, police said.

The butcher, whose name was not disclosed, had been about to kill the pig – which he had already shot with an electric stun gun – when it suddenly regained consciousness and knocked him over, according to authorities.

Another person working at the slaughterhouse found the butcher unconscious with the cleaver in his hand and a wound on his left foot, police said.

The butcher was rushed to the hospital and was later pronounced dead.

Hong Kong's Labour Department said it has launched an investigation.

"The Labour Department is saddened by the death of the person and expresses its deepest sympathy to his family," it said in a statement to CNN.

"We will complete the investigation as soon as possible to identify the cause of the accident, ascertain the liability of the duty holders and recommend improvement measures. We will take actions pursuant to the law if there is any violation of the work safety legislation," a department spokesman added.

Hong Kong's Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, which manages livestock slaughterhouses, offered its condolences to the man's family in a statement to CNN.

Police said the cause of death has yet to be determined.

This came after a camel attacked and killed a man at a children's holiday camp in Russia after it was struck in the face.

The animal bit and trampled the 51-year-old at Beryozka recreation Centre in Omsk, Siberia, Russia. The victim was rushed to hospital but later died, the Mirror reported.

The man reportedly hit the "peaceful" two-humped camel in the face after pulling strongly on its reins. The camel then retaliated, biting the man multiple times, according to the report.

Local prosecutors are said to be checking if the camel was legally held at the children's camp.