MAKATI CITY, Philippines – Images of human bodies bent and broken like ragdolls are haunting witnesses and emergency workers who were among the first to respond to a construction site accident in Makati City on Thursday.
An emergency medical dispatcher, Mark Bocalbos, said it was a scene he won’t forget.
“Maraming dugo na nagkalat. Kita ko dislocated bones, [yung] iba, duguan ang ulo,” he said.
Ten construction workers were
killed and one was injured after falling off a building being built in the city.
The accident occurred at the Eton Tower located at the corner of Paseo de Roxas and Gallardo streets in Makati City.
The workers fell from a suspended "gondola" – a basket-like platform used for installing glass windows, according to Eton spokesperson Erwin de Pedro.
Stunning scene
Bocalbos’ team received an emergency call around 11:00 a.m. from a security guard in the area where the accident occurred.
They were stunned by what they saw when they arrived.
The victims’ broken bodies were sprawled on a metal screen used to catch falling debris, with one worker hanging on the steel fence.
“Nakaka-shock. [Nung] tingnan ko, wala na vital signs. Isang ulo biyak na. Halos yun tenga halos mawala na rin sa laki nung biyak,” he said.
Bocalbos said it was the first time in his 3 years working as an emergency response worker that he saw such a tragedy.
He said the 3 workers who were among the last to be brought out of the building had the most serious injuries.
The arm of one victim was nearly amputated and had to be tied to the body.
“Na-iimagine ko, paano kaya kung ako yun? Siyempre naiisip ko rin yun mga kamag-anak nila, mga pamilyang naiwan nila,” Bocalbos said.
An investigator said the gondola that the workers were riding and were using as an elevator may have been overloaded.
"Bumagsak ang gondola. Maaaring overloading at nalagot ang tali na may hawak dito. Puwede ring nagkaroon ng malfunction, dalawa o tatlo lang kasi ang kaya nun,” he said.
Loud crack
A company driver, Luis Tolentino, was sitting on a parking lot across the construction site when he heard a loud crack.
Looking up, he was horrified to see 2 falling men on the side of the building.
Tolentino said the men were clutching each other, screaming, as they hit a lower floor.
Tolentino said he then noticed some 4 to 5 men still dangling on a metal gondola that was also hanging precariously on the side of the tower.
A few seconds later, the gondola and the men, came crashing down.
"Parang akong nakakita ng shooting ng pelikula sir, pero totoo ang nangyayari. Yung isa sa kanilang nakasabit nakita ko yung mukha lumolobo at kulay pakwan na,” he said.
A few minutes later, Tolentino noticed a rescue team approaching the men, who were piled on top of each other.
He said rescuers then pulled the victims out one by one.
Overloaded gondola?
Senior Fire Officer 1 Jefferson Robles, a member of the Bureau of Fire’s special rescue unit, said the gondola that the workers were riding and were using as an elevator may have been overloaded.
"Bumagsak ang gondola. Maaaring overloading at nalagot ang tali na may hawak dito. Puwede ring nagkaroon ng malfunction, dalawa o tatlo lang kasi ang kaya nun,” he said.
Eton management, quoting eyewitness accounts, said in a press statement that the workers were about to have their break time before 11 a.m.
Instead of taking the stairs going down from the 11th floor, the workers rode the gondola, the company said.
It added that the platform can only carry 2 to 3 workers, but about a dozen rode the platform, causing its cable to snap.
Eton management sent its condolences to the families of the victims and vowed to safety regulations in construction projects.
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