|
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Shipyard accident kills 4 men at work
By Mia E. Abellana
CEBU CITY -- Four men were killed while six were wounded after they fell from a height of nearly 18 meters inside Phase 4 of the Tsuneishi Heavy Industries, Inc. Saturday afternoon.
Seledonio Rivera Jr., 46, Romeo Dindin, Arthur Subing-subing, 30, and Israel Torcuolas, 39, were declared dead at the Balamban District Hospital.
2007 bar results
Their fellow welders Noel Arcillas, Danilo Capangpangan, Francisco Igmedio, Narciso Ruiz, Gerome Tolin, and Richard Cabañero were taken to the Cebu Velez General Hospital in Cebu City for treatment.
All 10 workers were on the steel trusses of what was to become an assembly building for the fabrication of ship hulls. They were preparing the trusses so they could install the roof when a portion suddenly collapsed at 3:05 p.m.
Leo Salubre, manager for environmental assurance and factory support group of Tsuneishi, assured that all safety requirements were followed when they were working.
Each had on a hard hat, safety belt and harness. No one else stood below while they worked on the trusses.
"I hope you understand that accidents do happen in every human endeavor. Had our safety measures not been in place, more personnel could have been involved," Salubre told reporters Saturday.
He stressed that the company's strict safety practices kept the casualties to a minimum.
The assembly building was constructed in February and expected to be finished by June. It is an open structure similar to a warehouse.
The trusses were installed two days before the accident.
Salubre said they could not say yet what caused the accident and would rather not speculate until their investigation is concluded.
The 10 workers were employed by Metaphil, a contractor of Tsuneishi.
Jonathan Bendebel, Metaphil's assistant vice president for construction, assured that the company would take care of all expenses incurred as a result of the accident.
Their human resource personnel were on duty at the hospital and the funeral parlor in Balamban town to take care of all their needs.
Bendebel said it was the policy of Metaphil and Tsuneishi that all their workers, including those hired on a contractual basis, were insured.
For now, the area has been sealed off and construction has been halted until they conclude their investigation and until they have ensured the area is safe for workers.
Since the shipyard began operating in 1994, Salubre and Bendebel said, this was the first time they encountered such an accident.
Though most of the family members of the four fatalities were still in shock, they agreed that the company had not abandoned them and that it was all an accident.
Marites Subing-subing, Arthur's wife, said her husband was so excited when he got his salary last Friday that they decided to buy a new television set.
Arthur has two children, aged three and two.
"Ingon siya nga handumanan kuno to namo sa iyang trabaho (He said it would be a memento of the work he did)," Marites, a housewife, said. Arthur has been working for Metaphil for three years.
Torcuolas' wife Maribel was in Surigao when she learned of her husband's death.
Her mother, Maria Claire Elemino, told reporters that Maribel had to work as a nurse in Surigao to gain more experience in an operating room. Maribel has applied for a nursing position in Saudi Arabia.
In the meantime, Torcuolas has been raising their four children alone. "Luoy kayo ko gatan-aw kay di na man mailhan ang nawong (It was wrenching to see him. I could no longer recognize his face)," Elemino said.
She was also very worried because the initial report they got was that a whole building had collapsed on the workers. Torcuolas has four children, aged between 11 and two.
Rivera's wife Deodora had no idea why she was being called to the hospital.
No one was willing to tell her until she reached the hospital and saw for her herself.
Like Torcuolas, Rivera has four children.
Deodora said her mind is still blank but that she understood that everything was just an accident. She hopes, though, to find out why such an accident happened despite all the safety measures.
Dindin's family had not yet arrived at the funeral parlor as of this writing Saturday. (Sun.Star Cebu)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star General Santos. (March 30, 2008 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here. |
|
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
