A fall, suffocation and being crushed claimed the lives of two construction workers and left another with serious injuries in separate incidents in New York last week.
A ten story fall
News sources say that 62-year-old Roger Vail fell ten stories to his death Monday evening after a wooden platform on a massive development project gave way underneath him. Vail had been doing a survey on the 16th floor of at the Manhattan work site when he fell to a sixth floor landing.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
New York City’s Buildings Department issued a stop-work order and a violation to the contractor for failing to implement fall prevention measures.
Sucked into a cesspool
A construction worker lost his life on Long Island on Wednesday after being sucked into a cesspool when it collapsed suddenly, causing a cave-in.
Edward Sinnott was reportedly directing a crane operator when he was sucked into the ground and buried beneath an estimated 15 feet of dirt.
A second worker nearly came to the same fate but managed to grab onto equipment and pull himself from the hole.
Despite the use of specialized equipment, first responders were unable to Sinnott’s body for around six hours.
OSHA is investigating the incident.
Trapped
A construction worker was seriously injured Tuesday night after being trapped between an exterior elevator and a building. News sources say the accident occurred around 9:30 p.m. in Chelsea. The victim was listed in critical condition at a local hospital.
