Kyle Knox of Stouffville, Ontario, employed by Anchor Shoring & Caissons Ltd., was killed after being trapped under an overturned caisson drilling rig at a York University construction site. He was working on a Toronto Transit subway station. Constructors of the project are OHL Construction Canada and Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas Canada Limited Partnership.
Young construction worker Kyle Knox of Stouffville, Ont. was killed after being trapped under an overturned caisson drilling rig at a York University construction site last week.
At about 3:08 p.m. on Oct. 11, the Ministry of Labour was notified of a workplace fatality that occurred at 2735 Steeles Ave. West in Toronto. Emergency Medical Services, Toronto Police and the Toronto police victim services attended the site.
The 24-year-old Anchor Shoring & Caissons Ltd. employee was pronounced dead at the scene when the drilling rig toppled onto two smaller machines and five others suffered non life-threatening injuries.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our employee and above all else, our thoughts and condolences are with his family,” said Dawn Tattle CEO, Anchor Shoring & Caissons Ltd. in a release.
“Our focus also continues to be on supporting all of our employees and their families during this difficult time.”
The drilling rig at the centre of the accident was not owned or operated by Anchor Shoring.
There is no word on the cause of the rig’s collapse. Ministry of Labour inspectors and an engineer are conducting an ongoing investigation of the accident.
The Ministry has issued a requirement order to the constructor to secure the scene for the purpose of the investigation, said Ministry spokesperson William Lin. Constructors of the project are OHL Construction Canada and Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas Canada Limited Partnership.
Advanced Construction Techniques and Dibco Underground Ltd. may have had workers at the scene.
In a letter sent to the Toronto Police Service, the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) called for a full criminal investigation of the incident.
The OFL launched its “Kill a Worker, Go to Jail” campaign after the Dec. 24, 2009 tragedy that claimed the lives of four construction workers who fell 13 storeys to their deaths from a scaffold on a Toronto building. The campaign calls for criminal code investigations into all workplace fatalities.
In 2003, the Criminal Code was amended through Bill C-45 (known as the Westray Bill) to include special criminal negligence provisions for companies that disregard the health and safety of workers. The intent was to hold employers criminally liable for the deaths of workers, but no convictions have been made in Ontario since the law came into effect.
“Every worker who is killed at work deserves to have their death investigated through the lens of C-45 and the Criminal Code. Their family deserves to know the police have done more than rule out foul play, that they have looked at criminal negligence by the employer as a possible cause,” said OFL President Sid Ryan in a statement following the York incident.
“We will never see a reduction of workplace fatalities and serious injuries in this province until bosses and CEOs learn that if they endanger the lives of workers, they will go to jail.”
The accident happened at the future site of a Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) subway station at York University which will be one of six new subway stops on the 8.6-kilometre extension of the Yonge-University-Spadina subway from the Downsview station into the city of Vaughan, which is expected to cost an estimated $2.6 billion.
The TTC began boring tunnels for the extension earlier this summer. The entire project includes a variety of contracts, including tunneling, watermain, road works, utility relocation and construction of the six stations. It is targeted for completion in late 2015.
The site is adjacent to the north side of York University’s Schulich School of Business.
Recent Comments
comments for this post are closed