Safety body to inquire into collapse of roof deck

The Health and Safety Authority is carrying out an investigation of an accident yesterday when five building workers were injured after a pre-cast concrete roof deck on which they were working collapsed.

The accident happened on the site of a £25 million extension to Wheatfield Prison, in Clondalkin, Dublin, at about 10.30 a.m. as the men were pouring liquid cement on the deck to provide a smooth finish. Suddenly, the four-tonne deck collapsed beneath them, causing the five victims to fall some 30 feet.

After the alarm was raised, two units of the Dublin Fire Brigade, together with a rescue vehicle and ambulances, went to the scene.

Three of the injured workers were taken to the Tallaght Hospital, where one of them was detained with a spinal injury. The other two were released last night after being dealt with by the accident and emergency unit.

The remaining two men were taken to St James's Hospital, where a spokeswoman would not release any information. However, according to a statement from John Sisk, the main contractor, they had "luckily suffered minor injuries".

The statement said Sisk's safety officers were investigating the cause of the accident with inspectors from the Health and Safety Authority. It also expressed the company's regret and extended its sympathy to the injured men's families.

One of the fears on the site yesterday was that someone could have been buried under the collapsed roof deck, even though all the workers on the site had been accounted for. A Fire Brigade ambulance stood by in case there were further casualties.

Sisk brought in a telescopic crane, with a capacity to carry up to 300 tonnes, to lift the collapsed deck. The injured builders had been working on a new entrance for Wheatfield Prison. In front of it work was also proceeding on a new court building linked to the prison.

A nearby sign described the £25 million project as a new remand prison and courthouse for the Department of Justice, designed by the Office of Public Works Architectural Services. For security reasons, it would have been exempt from the normal planning process.

A spokesman for the Health and Safety Authority, which has been dealing with a spate of building site accidents over the past 12 months, said it would have no comment to make on the matter until its investigations were completed.