Cable Breaks, Workman Falls to His Death; NTUCB Calls On G.O.B. to Enact OSH Law
Wilmer Coyi
From time to time, it has happened: a work crew is carrying out a potentially hazardous job, something snaps and one of them is fatally injured. That was what happened shortly before ten this morning at the B.D.F. Air Wing in Ladyville. A work crew from a contractor in Shipyard Village was refurbishing the hangar when the cable on the crane that was supporting their weight atop the lift gave way, sending the men and the bucket they were in crashing thirty feet to the ground. The impact left one of the men inside the bucket dead while the other walked away with non-life-threatening injuries. It’s an incident that has once again prompted the National Trade Union Congress of Belize to reiterate its call for the government to speed up the process of enacting legislation regarding occupational safety in Belize. News Five’s Marion Ali brings you the story in the following report.
Marion Ali, Reporting
This crane, with its cable broken, was the faulty piece of heavy duty equipment that caused the death of thirty-year-old Wilmer Coyi, a labourer from August Pine Ridge Village, in Orange Walk District. Coyi was along with a co-worker, Delroy Ku, about thirty-five feet up on the wall of the hanger at the BDF Air Wing. Their assignment today was to remove the zinc panels and replace them with new ones. But before the men could begin the work, tragedy struck. The crane’s cable broke and the bucket the men were in plunged to the ground. Coyi was killed instantly, while Ku managed to walk away with minor injuries. Major Francis Usher is the acting commanding officer of the B.D.F. Air Wing.
Francis Usher
Major Francis Usher, Acting Commanding Officer, B.D.F Air Wing
“Today they were going to begin removing the old zinc on the front of the hangar. Um, and so two individuals were lifted in the basket. From what I saw, the wire that held up the basket snapped, causing the basket to fall. The wire was connected to a pulley, which is what holds up the basket, and it looks like that metal pulley is what hit the individual, somewhere in the face, in the head, the individual that passed away. This work is being done under a contract that was handed out by the Ministry of National Defense and Border Security.”
Usher said that the work had been ongoing for about a month, and the crew had already refurbished one side of the hanger. But aside from the faulty cable, what was a glaring concern was that the men wore no protective gear. While Usher said the B.D.F. prioritizes safety for its members, the work crew did not fall under the B.D.F.’s command.
Major Francis Usher
“The individuals who were on the trolley, the basket today, they weren’t wearing any helmet or harness as such. We take safety seriously here at the air wing. It’s something that we enforce here, but they don’t fall under our command. And so the Individuals that received the contract, they would be the ones that have to enforce the safety standards for them.”
The issue of occupational safety is one that has been a sticking point for the National Trade Union Congress of Belize, N.T.U.C.B., for over a decade. Today its President, Luke Martinez told News Five that the umbrella union will not stop in its fight to get the OSH Bill passed enacted.
Luke Martinez
Luke Martinez, President, N.T.U.C.B
“We acknowledge that workers continue to be injured on the job, and workers continue to lose their lives and there is no recourse in the absence of OSH. As a matter of fact, there’s no urgency to ensure that workers are working in a safe environment and healthy environment. That should have never happened if the contractor would have followed standard operating procedures to ensure that safety is priority and obviously safety wasn’t priority this morning.”
Martinez said that he met only two days ago with the relevant ministry and their officials to again discuss the matter of occupational safety and health and they have given some assurances.
Luke Martinez
“The Minister and his C.E.O., they have given commitments that in two months time, we should see a significant move, but two months, and I mentioned to them that two months is too slow. And two days after I mentioned that, then we’re here talking about OSH because someone died on the work site.”
Now a family is left without a working member and Coyi’s grandmother, Demetria Coye says they will need help in laying him to rest.
Via Phone: Demetria Coyi, Grandmother of Wilmer Coyi
“He was working in construction with a Mennonite. The Mennonite know him, tell we nothing about him. Then, then call me and then tell me that then he don’t die, but I don’t know if he’s paying social because I call the Mennonite and I tell him that he have to do everything because we don’t have money, we don’t have money to buy the box or nothing.”
The Police have not yet officially released any information on the incident. Marion Ali for News Five.
