BUILDING ACCIDENT
3 workers jump from 7th floor to 6th, live to tell about it
The sound of metal bars clanging and the sight the scaffolding collapsing jolted the men who were working on the multi-story building of Lite Shipping Corp. at 4 a.m. Thursday.
Horrified at what he was seeing, Sario Sanico, a mason, abandoned pouring cement nearby and along with two other workers, jumped from the seventh floor to the sixth. All three survived but not without injuries.
Lite Shipping Corp. has contracted construction of their building to Devlarn Ventures and Development Corp. An initial check by the Cebu City Office of the Building Official prompted OBO to order the construction stopped until Devlarn has been able to comply with the safety requirements.
A dawn accident in a building under construction in Barangay Tejero wounded three workers.
Christopher Miranda of the Office of the Building Official (OBO) told reporters yesterday that the project has no building permit.
He said City Hall has ordered all operations in the site stopped until all requirements are complied with.
“We will consider it illegal because the permit is still being processed. They are still addressing the deficiencies we've found during our ocular inspection,” he said.
The building on M.J. Cuenco Ave. is reportedly owned by Lite Shipping and the main contractor is Devlarn Ventures and Development Corp. (DVDC).
In a separate interview, City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office Chief Nagiel Bañacia advised safety officers of construction sites to coordinate with emergency responders, or face criminal charges.
This came after the safety officers of DVDC allegedly barred responders from entering the site after the building scaffolding collapsed.
“That's tantamount to obstruction of justice. I suggest that they cooperate or at least explain to us clearly what's going on to ensure the safety of the workers in the face of disaster,” Bañacia told SunStar Cebu.
The Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) 7 also issued a work stoppage until DVDC corrects the defects.
Records showed that the workers were pouring mixed cement on the roof beam (canopy), which is an extension of the seventh floor.
When workers saw the canopy slowly weakening around 4:30 a.m., they jumped to avoid falling materials.
Lilia Estillore, head of the Dole 7 Tri-City Field Office, said the incident had more to do with structural design, which is under OBO's jurisdiction.
Meanwhile. Luchel Senarlo-Taniza, Dole 7 regional labor communication officer, said two labor engineers conducted a technical inspection on the incident, especially on occupational safety and health.