3 killed, 2 hurt in Davao construction mishap

Sun.Star: DAVAO CITY -- Three workers died while two others were injured after the scaffolding of a building under construction gave way in Agdao, Davao City Tuesday morning. The fatalities were identified as Ursino "Rudy" Caputi, 50, his son Lemuel, 30, residents of Kilometer 12 in Sasa, Davao City, and their co-worker identified as Loloy del Rosario, 20. The three were working as steel workers in the mess hall construction of Five Star Surplus and Hardware, Inc. The two injured workers who were brought to the Davao Medical Center were identified as Rosalindo Datuin, 25, a resident of Doña Pilar, Davao City, and Ronald Arancon, 36, of Times Beach in Ecoland, this city, both carpenters. "Wa gyud ko nag-expect. Kana silang tulo naa na sa silong nag-cutting og mga bakal. Walo sila tanan sa baba kami naa sa taas (I never expected this to happen. The three who died were cutting steel underneath the structure. There were eight of them down there, while we were above them)," Roy Servera, the foreman, said. Records showed that the incident happened at around 10 a.m. of November 20. The Urban Search and Rescue Team of the Central 911 first recovered the body of the elder Caputi, followed by the body of the son. As of 1:30 p.m., the team was still trying to dig up del Rosario's body. Fire Superintendent Rico Neil Kwantiu, Davao City Fire Office chief, who was with the police when they conducted an ocular investigation at the scene, said they are still determining the cause of the collapse and whether there were safety lapses. "Ang bumigay ay yung scaffoldings na humahawak sa bigat ng load sa kamamasa lang na semento. At ang scaffoldings ay made of coco lumber at wala tayong nakitang concrete post sa gitna, mga beam lang. Ang mga concrete post lang ay pawang nasa gilid. But these will be determined by the engineers," Kwantiu said in an interview. (What gave in were the scaffoldings that held the weight of the workers and the cement. The scaffoldings were made of coco lumber and we don't see any concrete post in the middle, just a beam.) He said they are looking into two things as possible causes of the incident: first is if the scaffoldings failed to hold the load and second is if the materials used were substandard. Attorney Maceste Uy, legal counsel of Five Star Surplus and Hardware, Inc., said they will pay the hospitalization of the injured and the funeral and the burial expenses of the dead. - Sun.Star