One worker dead and another missing following fall from bridge
Hong Kong – Macau
One construction worker has been confirmed dead and another remains missing, feared dead, following an incident at the construction site of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge on Wednesday.
A group of workers were dismantling a temporary work platform underneath a section of the bridge, about 3m (10ft) from the water’s surface, when the incident occurred. Three workers on the deck of the bridge were also injured in the incident, two of whom remain in hospital in a critical but stable condition.
The three workers on the temporary platform at the time of the collapse all fell into the water. One worker managed to swim ashore and was treated in hospital for minor injuries. The body of the worker confirmed dead was found by search and rescue crews a few hours following the incident.
Construction of the bridge commenced in 2011. In this time, there have been 7 reported fatalities and more than 170 reported injuries directly related to works on the project.
Worker killed in trench collapse
Odessa, Ukraine
A 48-year-old water utilities worker died on Tuesday at a civil construction site near the city of Odessa after a trench collapse. The man was reportedly working near the edge of a pipeline trench when the ground gave way beneath him. He fell into the pit and became engulfed in rubble. The man was declared dead at the scene.
Forklift operator crushed under overturned forklift
Pennsylvania, USA
Paramedics have declared dead at the scene a 35-year-old forklift operator following an incident at an industrial facility adjacent to the Philadelphia International Airport on Tuesday afternoon. The man became trapped under the forklift when it toppled over during operations, sustaining fatal crush injuries.
Worker killed in fall from height
Zacatecas, Mexico
A 25-year-old construction worker has died in hospital after falling from an under-construction wind turbine in central Mexico on Monday afternoon. The man was reportedly working from a height of approximately 60m (200ft) when he fell. The man was transported to a nearby hospital in an unconscious state, but was declared dead shortly after arrival. Local officials are as yet unsure if the man was wearing suitable fall protection equipment.
Worker crushed by safe deposit box
Pennsylvania, USA
A 35-year-old construction worker was killed on Monday after being crushed under a safe deposit box at a construction site in Cheltenham Township, north of Philadelphia. The man and a co-worker, who were involved with the refurbishment of an old Wells Fargo bank building, were removing the large steel safe deposit box from a bank vault with the use of a forklift when the box toppled and crushed him.
According to local authorities, the incident occurred as the men were attempting to lift the box with the forklift. Emergency crews attended the scene but found the man deceased.
Construction worker crushed by concrete slab
Ontario, Canada
Government officials are currently investigating the death of a 35-year-old construction worker who was killed on Monday at a construction site near the waterfront in downtown Toronto. The man had been working as a pre-cast concrete installer at the site when he was crushed by a concrete slab that allegedly fell from the back of a truck whilst it was being unloaded by a mobile crane.
The man became pinned under the slab, sustaining critical crush injuries. Emergency service crews were able to extract the man and rush him to a nearby hospital, where he died shortly after arrival.
Roofing worker killed in fall from height
Voronezh, Russia
Government officials are investigating the death of a 55-year-old worker who died on Monday at a factory near the city of Voronezh in Russia’s west. According to local reports, the man fell through an opening in the roof of the factory that his colleagues had made the previous day in order to gain internal access to the roof. The man fell a significant distance to the floor of the factory below, killing him instantly.
Council worker killed in vehicle roll-over
Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
A 44-year-old council staff member was killed last Friday evening whilst inspecting a rural property near the township of Ashley Clinton, approximately 90km (55 miles) south west of Napier. The man, a senior resource technician with the regional council, had visited the property in a council owned four wheel drive and had called the office to advise them of his departure.
The alarm was raised when the man failed to return to work and his vehicle tracker was not moving. Emergency services attended the scene and found the vehicle overturned after reportedly leaving a track on the property.
Worker in critical condition after being struck by equipment
Sydney, Australia
A 27-year-old construction worker remains in hospital in a critical condition following an incident at a construction site in Sydney on Monday morning. Emergency services were called to the site west of Sydney shortly after 8am after receiving reports of a worker being struck in the head with a concrete pumping boom.
The man was working on the fifth floor of an under-construction apartment complex when the incident occurred. Fire services assisted paramedics in bringing the man down from the building with the use of an elevated work platform. The man sustained traumatic head injuries in the incident and was transported to a nearby hospital where he remains in a critical condition.
Worker dies following crush incident
Northwestern Province, Zambia
A 42-year-old Indonesian man has died following an incident last Thursday morning at a copper mine near the town of Solwezi near the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Zambia’s north west. The expatriate worker, a pipe fitter by trade, was performing routine duties in the mine’s processing plant when he was struck in the chest and upper body by a large section of a steel launder pipe that fell from the roof.
The man sustained traumatic chest and upper body injuries including several broken ribs and punctured lungs. He was transported to a nearby hospital where doctors advised that he be airlifted to a more suitable facility in South Africa. The man succumbed to his injuries last Friday at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport as he was being prepared for evacuation. Despite the incident occurring last Thursday, it was not reported to government officials until Saturday.
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