Subic Bay Freeport Zone—Two scaffolders died while three others were injured in a bridge construction accident along the Subic Freeport Expressway on Wednesday.
A report from the Bataan police said the victims were pinned to death after temporary posts that support the Jadjad bridge being constructed in Barangay Tipo, Hermosa, Bataan collapsed.
Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority media team photos showed that a steel framework, which is part of the superstructure of the bridge under construction, fell of a column.
Police identified the fatalities as Vivincio Pamisa and Marvin Tajores, both scaffolders.
Injured were Joel Pitel, John Ray Salatan and Peter Pahilan, all workers of project contractor, Sta. Clara International Corporation.
The road project, which is being undertaken by the North Luzon Expressway Corp., is part of the P1.6-billion Subic Freeport Expressway Capacity Expansion Project meant to ease traffic in and out of Subic Bay Freeport Zone.
The SFEX road widening project includes the construction of two bridges, a tunnel and additional lanes to convert the 8.8-kilometer road into a four-lane highway.
Lawyer Meiline Maquiling, Sta. Clara International Corporation spokesperson, said the company assures that due assistance will be provided to the victims and that appropriate actions are being taken to address the incident.
SBMA Chairman Wilma T. Eisma expressed hope that a thorough investigation would uncover the cause and prevent a similar disaster from happening again.
