黑洞社区

A construction worker was killed by a piece of falling stairwell at Laing O鈥橰ourke鈥檚 拢600m Francis Crick Institute site in King鈥檚 Cross, London last Wednesday (6 November).

Police officers believe they know who the deceased, believed aged 31, is but they await formal identification. Next of kin have been informed.

Emergency services responded to reports of a man seriously injured at 4.50pm last Wednesday.

The man had stopped breathing when a medical team arrived, and was pronounced dead at the scene at around 5.40pm.

A post mortem examination at the Whittington Hospital on 8 November gave the cause of death as serious internal injuries.

Laing O鈥橰ourke confirmed the man was a construction worker with one of its subcontractors.

A Laing O鈥橰ourke spokesman said: 鈥淎s lead contractor on the site, Laing O鈥橰ourke is cooperating fully with the police and Health & Safety Executive.

鈥淭he thoughts of Laing O鈥橰ourke and the entire Francis Crick Institute project team are with the family and colleagues of the deceased at this time. While investigations are continuing, it would be inappropriate to comment further or speculate as to the cause.鈥�

Union Unite put out a statement saying it had not been allowed access to the site by Laing O鈥橰ourke.

Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail said: 鈥淭his fatality is a tragedy and our condolences go out to the bereaved鈥檚 family and friends.

鈥淭his is a harsh reminder of the importance of high standards of health & safety in an industry that is extremely dangerous. Trade unions have a role to play in maintaining safe working environments but Laing O鈥橰ourke has bizarrely banned Unite officials from their sites.

鈥淭here is no place for anti-trade union behaviour in an industry where we should be working together in the interests of safety.

鈥淲e urge Laing O鈥橰ourke鈥�to give Unite access to the sites to support workers and help make improvements where necessary.鈥�

A spokesperson for the Health & Safety Executive confirmed they were investigating the incident with the police. The Met said the death was not being treated as suspicious and there had been no arrests.

The site closed following the incident and reopened today (11 November).

Laing O鈥橰ourke was awarded the project to build a UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation for the Francis Crick Institute in March 2011. It is due for completion in 2015.