A fire extinguisher sprung a leak and shot 12 stories into the air, taking off a construction worker’s arm in a freak accident that prompted his co-workers to pray in order to appease angry spirits.

The accident occurred in a building, in Hong Kong, that many believe to be haunted after a fire eight years ago killed 40 people and injured 81.

Workers were demolishing the Garley Building to make way for a shopping mall when the sudden leak in the fire extinguisher propelled it into the air on Monday.

The 36 year old man who lost his arm, identified only by the surname So, remained in hospital in a serious condition on Wednesday.

Newspapers and television footage showed workers in safety helmets praying on Tuesday in front of a small altar full of incense and food amid the rubble at the demolition site.

Ghost-appeasing rituals, once common in traditional Chinese society, are rare in modern day Hong Kong.

from –

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2004/06/30/519642-ap.html