(Jamaica Observer) Two workmen died on Wednesday after the walls of a trench in which they were working to lay sewer pipes in Barbican, St Andrew, collapsed, covering them under mounds of earth.
A third worker who rushed to the scene, in an attempt to rescue the men, was injured and had to be hospitalised.
The deceased men have been identified as labourers Orlando Bennett, 27, and Kirk ‘Corner Stone’ Vernon, both of Barbican addresses.
The tragedy struck at around 3 o’clock in the afternoon, in the vicinity of the Chinese Cultural Centre, off Barbican Road, at the site controlled by Ronham and Associates Limited — an independent contractor for the National Water Commission (NWC), according to official statements.
In a late-afternoon release, minister of water and housing Horace Chang quoted reports indicating that the embankment of the trench collapsed due to the instability of the soil caused by recent heavy rains.
He also expressed his sorrow at the tragedy, while wishing the injured worker a speedy aecovery.
“On behalf of the ministry and our agency, the NWC, I would like to extend sincerest condolences to the families of the two workmen who were killed,” said Chang.
Meanwhile, the NWC said it had opened its own investigation to ascertain whether the necessary safety measures were in place at the open lot where the work — part of a wider effort to construct sanitary collector sewers along a section of Barbican Road, Cedar Valley, Standpipe Lane, Ravinia, and College Green — was in progress.
