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LAPU-LAPU CITY, Philippines - Four construction workers were seriously injured after the tower crane they were working on suddenly collapsed Sunday afternoon in Lapu-Lapu City.
Francisco Dagohoy, 31, of Dipolog City; Virgilio Ates, 38, of Asturias town; Gregorio Kiamco, 21, of Carmen town and Victor Alegado, 28, of Balamban town suffered broken bones in their arms and legs, aside from face and head wounds.
They were working on a four-storey building under construction inside the Pueblo Verde Compound at the Mactan Economic Zone II (MEZ 2) in Barangay (village) Basak.
The crane was 28 feet high.
Lapu-Lapu City Police Office homicide investigator Manolito Abellanosa said the four victims were at the top of the tower crane when it collapsed about 5:30 p.m.
The crane fell on an open space in front of the building construction.
The victims were first brought to the Mactan Doctors Hospital then transferred to a hospital in Cebu City.
Police Officer 1 Roel Sinag of the Lapu-Lapu police said initial reports pointed to a workplace accident.
He said the management of the building being constructed erected the crane within the property of Pueblo Verde, an affiliate of the Aboitiz Group.
In an official statement, the AboitizLand Inc. said the hospital bills of the four workers will be paid by the building contractor, BSP Construction Inc.
Armando Baria, assistant vice president for construction of AboitizLand, is monitoring the progress of the four workers. He said they are under the care of competent medical professionals.
Following the incident, the management said they have surveyed the site with the contractor to make sure that technical measures are undertaken to prevent similar accidents in the future.
In the same statement, AboitizLand said work was being done on August 24 to erect the tower crane. The equipment was to be used to lift materials to the higher parts of the building.
“The tower was already 28 feet high at the time the incident occurred and balance of the equipment had not yet been achieved,” AboitizLand said. /With Reporters Dale G. Israel and Cris Evert B. Lato
