Reported initially as a window cleaning accident...
Man who died in scaffolding accident from Bolivia: The two men were caulking windows at Laurens Place condos next to the Maritime Center when the three-story scaffolding gave way around 4 p.m. Monday. According to Charleston police, 33-year-old Pablo Condora fell in the water and 42-year-old Wilfredo Barrios Jaldin fell to the concrete below. Condora was transported to MUSC and the Jaldin died at the scene. Both men worked at Traditional Surfaces and a coworker, Nelson Flores, pulled Condora from the water. Flores told police that the men were caulking the area of the third floor balconies and Condora was on the scaffolding and Jaldin was on top of a ladder. At that time, both the ladder and the scaffolding began to fall over and Condora fell into the water while Jaldin landed on the walkway near the surrounding condominium building. Flores said he wasn't sure why the scaffolding and ladder fell. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was contacted.
Scaffolding collapse kills 1: One man fell to his death and another was injured Monday afternoon when a work crew's scaffolding collapsed at a waterfront condominium complex in downtown Charleston. The men were working on windows at Laurens Place, beside the Charleston Maritime Center, when the metal scaffolding gave way about 4 p.m., said Charles Francis, police public information officer. One man plunged to the ground and was pronounced dead at the scene, Francis said. The other fell into Charleston Harbor. He was rushed to Medical University Hospital for treatment, Francis said. The extent of his injuries could not be determined.
The Charleston County Coroner's Office confirmed the death, but authorities did not release the name of the man or the company he worked for. Laurens Place, on Wharfside Street, is between the Maritime Center and Union Pier, a tony complex with sweeping views of the harbor. The incident occurred at a section of condos with balconies facing out on the water, between two docks. Witnesses said they saw at least three workers on the scaffolding shortly before it went down. The scaffolding was about 20 feet off the ground, and workers had set up an extension ladder on top that reached to the third floor, they said. Craig Morris saw the setup as he set out on the Carolina Belle. "When I saw that I was like, 'What are they thinking?' That is so dangerous."
When the boat returned, Morris saw the crumpled scaffolding and emergency workers surrounding the scene. The scaffolding and extension ladder lay in pieces, stretching from a path beside the condos across a jumble of rocks leading to the water. The dead man's body appeared to have landed on the path, just before the rocks. Four co-workers of the men sat behind the yellow police tape, pacing and looking down at the ground as they waited to give their statements to authorities. They declined to comment when they finally left the area shortly before 6 p.m.
This comes on the heels of charges laid in the scaffolding accident that killed 4 workers in Canada..
Charges laid in scaffolding accident that killed 4 workers: Charges carrying fines of up to $17,000,000 have been laid against two companies that ran and supplied a platform that collapsed in Etobicoke on Christmas Eve, plunging four migrant workers to their deaths. Individual executives and supervisors at the companies could also face years in jail after a total of 61 charges were issued by the provincial labour ministry Saturday. They come after an exhaustive, seven-month investigation into the Dec. 24th incident, which saw five eastern European workers fall 13 storeys from the side of a Kipling Ave. apartment building. One of the workers miraculously survived. Some 30 charges were brought under the Occupational Health and Safety Act against Metron Construction Corporation, who employed the workers. Another 16 were levelled against a director of that company and eight more against a Metron supervisor, said ministry spokesperson Matt Blajer.
Platform supplier Swing ‘N’ Scaff faces four charges while three were laid against a director of the company. Each of the corporate charges carries a potential $500,000 fine, Blajer said. Penalties for the unnamed individuals range up to $25,000 in fines and a year in jail for each allegation. The tragedy, the city’s worst workplace accident in a generation, sparked a provincial review of the system that protects Ontario workers and a safety blitz of construction sites. The blitz led to the shutdown of 784 dangerous jobs on sites throughout Ontario. Together Saturday’s charges paint a picture of shoddy or absent maintenance, supervision and construction and a woeful lack of safety training at the Kipling Ave. site. Together the charges paint a picture of shoddy or absent maintenance and supervision, and a woeful lack of safety training and equipment. None of the charges has been proved in court.
The charges allege “failure to ensure workers use proper devices to prevent them from falling... failure to ensure the platform was not overloaded (and) failure to ensure the platform was designed in accordance with regulations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act,” he said. Charges also relate to allegations of inadequate training, instruction and supervision on fall prevention, a failure to ensure the platform was supplied in good condition and a lack of proper maintenance and adequate inspection. Ministry stop work orders on the site were issued against Metron at least twice in the months leading up to the accident, mostly dealing with safety concerns.
John Cartwright, president of the Toronto and York Region Labour Council, said the charges point to a serious and thorough investigation by the ministry. “I would say I’m very pleased that the ministry has obviously combed all of the details of what happened at this tragic event,” Cartwright said. He said, however, that criminal charges should be brought against the employers, in order to further deter others in the “underground economy” who often take advantage of migrant workers.
Some employers “really prey on immigrant workers, refugees who don’t feel they have any right to stand up to for proper safety conditions or demand the proper training necessary,” he said. The dead included 40-year-old Vladimir Korostin, a father of two from Uzbekistan who was seeking refugee status in Canada. Also killed were Aleksey Blumberg, a newly married refugee claimant from Ukraine, and Russian Alexander Bondorev. Fayzullo Fazilov 31, perished as well, while a fifth man, Dilshod Marupov, who managed to hang onto the collapsed platform momentarily before falling, suffered serious leg and spinal injuries. Metron president Joel Swartz did not reply to email requests for comment. Hearings into the charges will begin at the Ontario court of justice in Toronto on Sept. 30.
In January, bowing to pressure from organized labour and relatives of victims, Queen’s Park said it would review the system that protects workers in this province. Tony Dean, the respected former head of the Ontario Public Service, was named to chair a panel of safety experts, labour groups and employers to recommend changes by next fall. Since 1990, more than 400 workers have been killed in construction mishaps. Premier Dalton McGuinty said he was “absolutely committed” to ensuring the safety of work sites. “I would be eager to receive any recommendations to see what more we may do to make sure that our construction sites are safe,” McGuinty said. The expert advisory panel will go beyond the construction industry to review the entire system of occupational health, safety, prevention and enforcement, Labour Minister Peter Fonseca said at the time. “Even one death or injury in a workplace is too many,” he said.
Man who died in scaffolding accident from Bolivia: The two men were caulking windows at Laurens Place condos next to the Maritime Center when the three-story scaffolding gave way around 4 p.m. Monday. According to Charleston police, 33-year-old Pablo Condora fell in the water and 42-year-old Wilfredo Barrios Jaldin fell to the concrete below. Condora was transported to MUSC and the Jaldin died at the scene. Both men worked at Traditional Surfaces and a coworker, Nelson Flores, pulled Condora from the water. Flores told police that the men were caulking the area of the third floor balconies and Condora was on the scaffolding and Jaldin was on top of a ladder. At that time, both the ladder and the scaffolding began to fall over and Condora fell into the water while Jaldin landed on the walkway near the surrounding condominium building. Flores said he wasn't sure why the scaffolding and ladder fell. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was contacted.Scaffolding collapse kills 1: One man fell to his death and another was injured Monday afternoon when a work crew's scaffolding collapsed at a waterfront condominium complex in downtown Charleston. The men were working on windows at Laurens Place, beside the Charleston Maritime Center, when the metal scaffolding gave way about 4 p.m., said Charles Francis, police public information officer. One man plunged to the ground and was pronounced dead at the scene, Francis said. The other fell into Charleston Harbor. He was rushed to Medical University Hospital for treatment, Francis said. The extent of his injuries could not be determined.The Charleston County Coroner's Office confirmed the death, but authorities did not release the name of the man or the company he worked for. Laurens Place, on Wharfside Street, is between the Maritime Center and Union Pier, a tony complex with sweeping views of the harbor. The incident occurred at a section of condos with balconies facing out on the water, between two docks. Witnesses said they saw at least three workers on the scaffolding shortly before it went down. The scaffolding was about 20 feet off the ground, and workers had set up an extension ladder on top that reached to the third floor, they said. Craig Morris saw the setup as he set out on the Carolina Belle. "When I saw that I was like, 'What are they thinking?' That is so dangerous."
When the boat returned, Morris saw the crumpled scaffolding and emergency workers surrounding the scene. The scaffolding and extension ladder lay in pieces, stretching from a path beside the condos across a jumble of rocks leading to the water. The dead man's body appeared to have landed on the path, just before the rocks. Four co-workers of the men sat behind the yellow police tape, pacing and looking down at the ground as they waited to give their statements to authorities. They declined to comment when they finally left the area shortly before 6 p.m.
This comes on the heels of charges laid in the scaffolding accident that killed 4 workers in Canada..
Charges laid in scaffolding accident that killed 4 workers: Charges carrying fines of up to $17,000,000 have been laid against two companies that ran and supplied a platform that collapsed in Etobicoke on Christmas Eve, plunging four migrant workers to their deaths. Individual executives and supervisors at the companies could also face years in jail after a total of 61 charges were issued by the provincial labour ministry Saturday. They come after an exhaustive, seven-month investigation into the Dec. 24th incident, which saw five eastern European workers fall 13 storeys from the side of a Kipling Ave. apartment building. One of the workers miraculously survived. Some 30 charges were brought under the Occupational Health and Safety Act against Metron Construction Corporation, who employed the workers. Another 16 were levelled against a director of that company and eight more against a Metron supervisor, said ministry spokesperson Matt Blajer.Platform supplier Swing ‘N’ Scaff faces four charges while three were laid against a director of the company. Each of the corporate charges carries a potential $500,000 fine, Blajer said. Penalties for the unnamed individuals range up to $25,000 in fines and a year in jail for each allegation. The tragedy, the city’s worst workplace accident in a generation, sparked a provincial review of the system that protects Ontario workers and a safety blitz of construction sites. The blitz led to the shutdown of 784 dangerous jobs on sites throughout Ontario. Together Saturday’s charges paint a picture of shoddy or absent maintenance, supervision and construction and a woeful lack of safety training at the Kipling Ave. site. Together the charges paint a picture of shoddy or absent maintenance and supervision, and a woeful lack of safety training and equipment. None of the charges has been proved in court.
The charges allege “failure to ensure workers use proper devices to prevent them from falling... failure to ensure the platform was not overloaded (and) failure to ensure the platform was designed in accordance with regulations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act,” he said. Charges also relate to allegations of inadequate training, instruction and supervision on fall prevention, a failure to ensure the platform was supplied in good condition and a lack of proper maintenance and adequate inspection. Ministry stop work orders on the site were issued against Metron at least twice in the months leading up to the accident, mostly dealing with safety concerns.
John Cartwright, president of the Toronto and York Region Labour Council, said the charges point to a serious and thorough investigation by the ministry. “I would say I’m very pleased that the ministry has obviously combed all of the details of what happened at this tragic event,” Cartwright said. He said, however, that criminal charges should be brought against the employers, in order to further deter others in the “underground economy” who often take advantage of migrant workers.
Some employers “really prey on immigrant workers, refugees who don’t feel they have any right to stand up to for proper safety conditions or demand the proper training necessary,” he said. The dead included 40-year-old Vladimir Korostin, a father of two from Uzbekistan who was seeking refugee status in Canada. Also killed were Aleksey Blumberg, a newly married refugee claimant from Ukraine, and Russian Alexander Bondorev. Fayzullo Fazilov 31, perished as well, while a fifth man, Dilshod Marupov, who managed to hang onto the collapsed platform momentarily before falling, suffered serious leg and spinal injuries. Metron president Joel Swartz did not reply to email requests for comment. Hearings into the charges will begin at the Ontario court of justice in Toronto on Sept. 30.
In January, bowing to pressure from organized labour and relatives of victims, Queen’s Park said it would review the system that protects workers in this province. Tony Dean, the respected former head of the Ontario Public Service, was named to chair a panel of safety experts, labour groups and employers to recommend changes by next fall. Since 1990, more than 400 workers have been killed in construction mishaps. Premier Dalton McGuinty said he was “absolutely committed” to ensuring the safety of work sites. “I would be eager to receive any recommendations to see what more we may do to make sure that our construction sites are safe,” McGuinty said. The expert advisory panel will go beyond the construction industry to review the entire system of occupational health, safety, prevention and enforcement, Labour Minister Peter Fonseca said at the time. “Even one death or injury in a workplace is too many,” he said.
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