Worker dead, another critical after Sydney scaffolding collapse   

April 1, 2019
The Age


A man is dead and another is critically injured after scaffolding collapsed and trapped the pair at a construction site in Sydney's north.

Emergency services were called to the development on Epping Road at Macquarie Park after reports that two workers were wedged under fallen scaffolding and concrete about 12.20pm.




A Fire and Rescue NSW spokesman said seven fire crews, including a crew that specialises in structural collapses, were at the scene.

One man, 39, was removed from the rubble and was taken to Royal North Shore Hospital where he remains in a critical condition.   


Three ambulance crews and the CareFlight helicopter were at the scene and police were also assisting with the rescue.

Shortly before 3pm, a spokesman for the project's construction company Ganellen said that one of the workers had died.   


"This is a tragic incident and our deepest sympathies go to the young man's family, co-workers and friends.

"Another injured worker is receiving treatment in hospital and our thoughts and best wishes are with him. All others on site have been safely accounted for.

"This is clearly a distressing time for everyone on site and we are mobilising support services to look after those who have been affected.

A SafeWork NSW spokesman said that a number of tradesmen were working on the lower deck of scaffolding when it collapsed. Inspectors are on site.

"While the cause of the collapse is unknown at this stage, SafeWork is employing significant resources to fully understand how this tragic incident occurred," the spokesman said.

"It is expected that the investigation could take some time, while SafeWork inspectors work through the complexities of the incident."

A report will be prepared for the coroner.

Two eastbound lanes of Epping Road are closed, and members of the public are being urged to avoid the area.

The collapse happened at the site of an apartment development known as "nbh at Lachlan's Line", which will ultimately consist of 900 apartments across six towers. The company said that "nbh" is an abbreviation of "neighbourhood".


A major rescue operation is under way at a construction site after a scaffolding collapse.

The project is being developed by Chinese-backed residential developer Greenland Australia .

Architecture firm Bates Smart, which designed the Opal Tower, was involved in the design along with a second firm, Turner.

A project update from last month said scaffolding was coming down on the building, which is due for completion this year. Between 300 and 350 workers are on the site each day.

More to come

are they the scaffolding people bobby?....

so sorry about the workman  terrible news..just wondering if these workers have special insurance   they seem to work in very dangerous conditions...

cods wrote on Apr 1^st, 2019 at 4:35pm:


where did it way his mum was there?

Ban high rise - ship all the Lostlanders and Outlanders to the Outback where they belong to dig canals and water orange fields... open it all up for future generations and to cope with the increasing tsunami of refugees (Lostlanders) and immigrants (Outlanders) trying to get in here....

"Raus.. RAUS!  Outlanderen!  Lostlanderen!  On der trains or ve send in der dogs!!  RAUS!!"

Rose Grower wrote on Apr 1^st, 2019 at 4:55pm:


It was on the TV news.... she worked in the canteen.

He had his 18th birthday on site last week .... his mum baked his cake which he got in the canteen.

Gnads wrote on Apr 2^nd, 2019 at 8:15am:



where ever humans are involved will be a weakness.......if we were perfect dont you think the world would be in better shape.?


sadly a young mans life has been taken...

why does scaffolding fail anyway????......how long had this scaffolding been there?....

you know cars fail planes fail...its reality.

cods wrote on Apr 2^nd, 2019 at 8:22am:


Yes Cods the human factor for error can  never be totally 100% eliminated in a workplace but it can be drastically reduced.

Companies all over Australia have a safety policy called Zero Harm, including mine and its an unacheivable pie in the sky motto covering as a staff management tool.

Where safety procedures are written out hand over fist and all onus put back on staff with disciplinary action up to dismissal as a threat.

This safety policy was taken up from US company Du Pont whose safety record in their workplaces at home and abroad is abysmal.

None the less in this case something went awry with scaffolding...but ..if done right it shouldn't have happened.

Asians build skyscrapers with bamboo scaffolding tied together with cane strips.

We have heavy duty galv steel pipe and fastening brackets.... it shouldn't have happened if done right.

Too many shortcuts taken and the lack of on site safety inspectors drives these outcomes.

So one man is in hospital....... and an 18 yr old has his life cut short.

2017 saw 190 killed at work.

157 killed at work last year.... and year to date 21st March 2019 there have been 30 .... this makes 31.

Unacceptable.

Gnads wrote on Apr 2^nd, 2019 at 9:30am:


Oh no, your workplace got you on the DuPont bandwagon too? 

I remember about a year after they tried putting us on the DuPont program three people died in the same incident at a DuPont plant. A worker had been exposed to a gas which caused him to collapse and die. The second worker died after trying to rescue the first worker, the third worker died after trying to rescue both.

I have no issues with introducing sensible OH&S policies designed to protect worker's lives. I do have an issue when the aim of the OH&S policy is to ultimately prevent any incident from occurring, which not only is impossible but does have an effect on your ability to perform your daily duties. I remember I once went to the First Aid cabinet to get a band aid to cover up a cut I made to my finger on the previous weekend. I found that my workplace had decided to remove all of the band aid from the First Aid cabinets and they now had to be obtained from Security. This was to ensure that all injuries sustained at work were reported, even paper cuts! I went to the supermarket after work and bought a box of band aids to keep at work, which still live in my drawer.

Regarding the questions about scaffolding, my workplace erects scaffolding regularly for a variety of jobs. From what I recall, the scaff needs to be erected by a certified installer, then the erected scaff needs to be certified as being safe. Long term installations need to be assessed regularly to ensure that they maintain their integrity, or if the installation has been exposed to a major weather event such as strong winds or heavy rain. So in the incident at the building site, you'll most likely find that one of those requirements haven't been met.

As for using bamboo scaffolding, I remember reading a story years ago where 26 workers on such scaffolding in China died after it collapsed.