Workers Killed in FL Scaffolding Collapse
By Stephen Ruiz and Bianca Padró Ocasio
Source Orlando Sentinel
Aug. 29 -- Two workers died early Wednesday morning after they fell when scaffolding gave way on a construction site near Walt Disney World, Orange County Fire Rescue said.
The accident occurred in the 14900 block of Chelonia Parkway, according to fire-rescue spokesman Mike Jachles. Several workers were on a support structure on the seventh floor of a hotel construction project and were pouring concrete when it collapsed, Orange County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Ingrid Tejada-Monforte said.
The victims were identified as 34-year-old Loreno Zavala and 46-year-old Jerry Bell.
A third worker hung on and climbed to safety, fire rescue said. He sustained minor injuries but was not hospitalized. Jachles said there were reports of a fourth worker on the scaffold, but he was not hurt.
The fatal accident was at the building site of a JW Marriott Hotel at Bonnet Creek and not on Disney property. The hotel is slated to be completed by 2019, Tejada-Monforte said.
A spokesman for Marriott International said the construction was managed by the developer, DCS Investments of West Palm Beach, and directed any other questions to Orange County deputies.
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic accident that took place earlier today,” said spokesman Jeff Flaherty. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and loved ones of the workers who died.”
Jachles said about 18 workers were at the scene when the accident was called in at 4:15 a.m.
Officials have not revealed a reason why the scaffolding gave way, or if the workers were wearing harnesses. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will investigate the incident.
Several family members of the victims were at the scene on Wednesday morning, awaiting updates from authorities.
Joe Colon, a 42-year-old iron welder employed at the site, got to work an hour late on Wednesday morning to find the street had been blocked off and he couldn’t access the site.
“I’m just thinking of where it could’ve collapsed, what part,” Colon said. “OSHA’s there every day, they go around taking pictures, that’s why I don’t get it. ... I wonder if I knew them.”
Tejada-Monforte did not say when construction work was expected to resume.
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