CEBU CITY — Five construction workers were pinned to death while six others sustained head and body injuries when part of the mall building they were working on collapsed at 1 a.m. Wednesday in Barangay Tisa, this city.
The workers, all belonging to the CYC Construction Company, were working on shift for 24 hours to beat the April 30 grand opening of the Gaisano Capital mall but the firewall at the right side of the building collapsed, dragging the concrete and metal beams and an electric transformer to the ground.
The five fatalities, identified as brothers Junnie and Christian Dilan, Teodolfo Ditomal, Lindon Melendres, and Argie Ceniza, have been continuosly working on the right side of the mall building past 1 a.m. even as other workers were already out for a break. There were 27 construction workers on shift during the time of the incident.
Arnel Pacible, one of the six injured workers said he noticed the firewall already leaning a little to one side but ignored this, saying they were ordered to work double-time to finish the mall on schedule. Other parts of the three-story building have already been completed.
While working on the finishing touches of the wall, Pacible said the firewall on the right side suddenly collapsed, hitting his fellow workers who were working on the beams of the ceiling on the ground floor.
“It was so sudden. I noticed rubble falling and then the entire firewall collapsed,†said Pacible, who was fortunate to live and tell the story.
He and five others, Jerome Sios-e, Roel Pasaje, Noel Lucero, Joy Manceras, and Ricardo Villega, were rushed to the Cebu City Medical Center by fellow workers.
“First there was a loud banging sound and then what followed were cries for help from our fellow workers,†a worker, who had been on break, said.
Other workers and Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation personnel tried to retrieve the five pinned workers but they were declared dead by the time they reached the hospital due to severe head and body injuries.
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