Defects on construction site already known before fatal accident
A few days before the serious work accident with five fatalities around two weeks ago in Hamburg's HafenCity, the authorities discovered defects at the construction site where the accident occurred. The last inspection by the Office for Building Regulations and Building Construction took place on October 20 of this year, ten days before the collapse of the scaffolding, according to a Senate response to a minor question from CDU parliamentary group leader Dennis Thering. An inquiry by the left-wing parliamentary group revealed that each of the 23 inspections carried out since the beginning of 2022 revealed deficiencies in occupational health and safety, some of which were only remedied after multiple official orders.
During the last inspection, the building authority found the following major deficiencies, among others: fall protection was missing in some areas, the personal fall protection equipment of some employees had not been tested and protection against falling objects was not provided everywhere.
Thering emphasized that his inquiry showed that the Senate was aware of these deficiencies. "Safety on Hamburg's construction sites must be a top priority," demanded the parliamentary group leader. "With this in mind, it is questionable to me why the Senate did not intervene on the accident site."
"One to six violations" were found at each of the 23 inspections, said Olga Fritzsche, the Left Party's spokesperson for economic policy. "This does not appear to have had any consequences, the construction site was certainly not shut down due to the lax safety culture."
Her parliamentary group colleague David Stoop pointed out that there have been at least 119 accidents at work in Hamburg this year - "seven of them fatal". Construction workers in particular are exposed to special risks. "Defects must be consistently punished here," he demanded.
On the major construction site in Hafencity, scaffolding fell from the eighth floor into an elevator shaft on 30 October. Four workers died at the scene of the accident - a fifth man later succumbed to his life-threatening injuries in hospital.
The bodies of almost all of the victims have now been taken home for burial. Four of the five men have now been transferred to Albania, said a police spokeswoman in Hamburg on Tuesday.
Despite the frequent emergencies and evident work-related issues found during inspections, the construction site where the fatal accident occurred remained operational. The discovery of missing fall protection, untested personal fall protection equipment, and lack of protection against falling objects during the last inspection prior to the accident was alarming.
Source: www.dpa.com
