Fatal accident on the burner construction site: Workers buried under heavy vehicle!

Fatal accident on the burner construction site: Workers buried under heavy vehicle!

On Sunday, a serious work accident occurred on the construction site of the Brenner Base Tunnel, in which a worker was fatally injured. According to 5min.at around noon was overwhelmed by a heavy vehicle and died at the scene of the accident. Police spokesman Christian Viehweider confirmed the incident and made it clear that the exact circumstances of the accident are now the subject of investigations.

This tragic incident follows shortly afterwards that another worker suffered serious head injuries on Saturday when it was also trapped by tunnel change elements, also called Tübbingen. In addition, there was another incident a few days ago, in which a worker was hit by a large stone and also injured.

accident statistics and safety aspects

The situation on construction sites raises questions about occupational safety. Every year, over 700,000 accidents of work occur in Germany, as reports iag-Mainz.de . Despite a decline in the number of accidents in recent years, the construction industry is still particularly dangerous. In 2011, over 135,000 accidents of work were reported to construction sites, whereby the number had dropped to over 110,000 by 2017, but has increased again since then.

On average, there were around 118,000 accidents on average during this period, which corresponds to more than 320 accidents per day. The fact that an average of 85 fatal accidents occur annually is worrying, which means that a person dies on a construction site every four days. The most common causes of the accident are contact with objects (33 %), impact on objects (26.9 %) and the captivating of moving objects (16.2 %).

preventive measures and security standards

In order to increase security on construction sites, both technical and organizational measures are essential. Technical measures include the provision of secure work equipment, while organizational measures should promote the qualification and instruction of the staff, especially when dealing with earth construction machines. The use of personal protective equipment (PSA) such as protective helmets, safety shoes and warning clothing can reduce the consequences of accidents and increase visibility.

The tragedy on the construction site of the burner base tunnel illustrates the urgent need to continuously review and improve security standards in order to protect the health and life of the workers.