| Six hurt in Liverpool scaffold collapse |
|
| Thursday, 20 September 2007 | |
|
Six builders working on Liverpool John Moores University’s new £23m art and design academy have been injured after a scaffolding tower collapsed, throwing the men 35 feet to the ground. The six were taken to hospital where they remain, one of them seriously hurt with back injuries.
Firefighters spent two hours making the site safe until staff from the Health and Safety Executive arrived to start their investigation. The five-floor academy is being built next to the Grade I listed Metropolitan Cathedral, on the site of the St Nicholas Centre, to house all the the university's art and design facilities under one roof. It was due to open next year. A spokesman for the Health and Safety Executive said: “I can confirm we have been informed and now await further details from the emergency services.” The Northants-based contractors MOB Structures said it could not comment while investigations were ongoing. The accident comes after a sharp rise in construction industry fatalities led the Government to convene an industry-wide forum to look at the issue of site safety. |
