AN ACCIDENT investigation is under way following the partial collapse of a construction project in central Belfast which seriously injured six workers.
They were working on the second floor of a new office block for the Law Society when the structure collapsed.
The injured builders, two of whom are Polish, were taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital suffering from fractures and other injuries. A spokeswoman said they are in a stable condition and that their injuries were not life-threatening.
The construction collapsed at around 10.45am as concrete was being poured on to the second storey of the planned six-storey office block on Victoria Street near the newly-opened Victoria Square development.
Workers fell from heights of up to 9m (29½ft), and many became trapped in the resulting wreckage of steel girders, scaffolding and rubble. Their workmates pulled them from beneath stone and heavy machinery.
Brendan Collins, who was beside the site in a cement-mixing lorry when the mishap occurred, said: "It looks like the supports underneath the building gave way, which caused machinery to fall on top of the workers.
"I rushed in with four or five other fellows and lifted the machinery off one of them. He was covered in blood and completely crushed."
Tommy Combs, a security guard at a nearby office block, heard a noise "like a bomb going off" and rushed out to witness the falling edifice. "It was like slow motion, just like watching a matchstick house collapse - there was complete pandemonium - it's just unbelievable."
He added: "They are damned lucky to have come out of that alive. I felt certain somebody had to be killed in it."
Another witness described construction workers "walking about covered in dust, holding their heads, dazed by it all".
"It seems part of the building collapsed as well. People are just standing about, looking on in disbelief at what happened."
Nine fire engines and a fleet of ambulances arrived quickly at the site in scenes the likes of which have not been seen in Belfast since the height of the Troubles.
Specially-trained sniffer dogs were used to ensure that none of the 60 workers who had been working on the site was trapped beneath the rubble.
Turkington Construction, the company that was working on the building, said: "We deeply regret the incident which took place today at Law Society house.
"We are now working closely with the Health and Safety Executive to investigate the causes of the incident and to ensure the site is secured to the public and our workforce."
Four people have already died on construction sites in Northern Ireland this year. Michael Kiddle, regional organiser for construction union Ucatt, said this statistic was directly linked to the increasing use of casual workers. "This latest accident underlines just how dangerous the construction industry remains.
"Casualisation is literally killing construction workers. The recent death toll is a strain on the industry."
The Health and Safety Executive have closed down the site until a full investigation can be carried out. Victoria Street is also closed.