2 workers dead in trench collapse at JFK Airport jobsite – Construction Dive
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Port Authority Police received a report of two workers trapped under construction rubble at 11:08 a.m. on Monday. The Port Authority Emergency Services Unit, fire department and EMS responded to the scene and began the rescue around 11:15 a.m. using an excavator, ropes, pulleys and chains, according to CBS News. The mens’ bodies were pulled out just after 1 p.m., when they were pronounced dead.
The Port Authority said in a statement that it is conducting a thorough investigation and will be cooperating with all other investigative agencies.
The ongoing construction at JFK Airport is part of a sprawling $18 billion-plus overhaul that entails the development of two new terminals, expansion of two existing terminals and other infrastructure improvements. AECOM Tishman is building Terminal 1; STV, Turner Construction, Group PMX, McKissack and NYCO are expanding Terminal 4; AECOM Hunt is constructing Terminal 6; and AECOM Holt is expanding Terminal 8.
Construction worker deaths reached a five-year high in New York City last year, and this incident marks the third workplace fatality to occur at JFK International Airport in the past month alone, according to a joint statement from New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Transportation and Infrastructure Chair Selvena N. Brooks-Powers.
In an effort to address this dangerous trend, New York state passed Carlos’ Law in December 2022, which increases the penalty by 50 times (at a minimum) that a judge can levy on an employer as a result of a worker’s death or injury. The law is named for Carlos Moncayo, a 22-year-old undocumented Ecuadorian worker who died in a 2015 trench collapse.
Trench deaths are one of the leading causes of fatalities in the construction industry overall, according to OSHA, and the agency is stepping up enforcement as a result. Last year, 39 workers died from hazards in trench and excavation work, more than double the 15 who perished in all of 2021. Stephen Boyd, deputy regional administrator of OSHA’s Region 6, said at a January conference attended by Construction Dive that he expects this trench death trend to continue this year.
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Overdue repairs on multifamily buildings are a recipe for disaster, writes construction risk management expert Don Neff.
Increasing availability and better protection have made helmets the new standard for major contractors like Clark and DPR.
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