December 30, 2009

‘Miracle’ that construction worker survived 13-storey drop

Investigation continues into Christmas Eve scaffolding tragedy

TORONTO

The last thing Dilshod Mamurov remembers before falling 13 storeys was frantically clinging to a scaffold where he had been working. "He doesn’t remember how he fell down," said Bakhtier Shakhnazarov, a member of the city’s Uzbek community.

He spoke with Mamurov, 21, when he regained consciousness after the Dec. 24 accident in northwest Toronto that killed four of his co-workers.

"He was the last one hanging on," said Shakhnazarov. "It’s a miracle that he survived."

The five workers were outside a 13th-floor balcony when the scaffold snapped in half around 4:30 p.m. last Thursday.

Four men fell to their deaths, while Mamurov clung to the equipment briefly before falling.

Shakhnazarov said it’s astounding that Mamurov managed to avoid any head injuries in the fall.

The fact that Mamurov landed on his legs and not his head probably helped save his life.

Also, because he held on to a piece of scaffold that swung down two storeys, he didn’t fall quite as far as his colleagues.

Still, a Toronto engineer who is an expert in fall protection at work sites, said it is likely that something broke Mamurov’s fall to the concrete below.

"My speculation is that he landed on the body of the worker that fell before him," said Andrew Sulowski. "It’s the only thing that comes to mind, unfortunately."

Sulowski said that news photographs don’t seem to show trees or anything else that could have cushioned the impact, although it’s possible something fell from the broken scaffold.

Shakhnazarov said he’s concerned because Mamurov faces lengthy medical treatments.

Staff at Sunnybrook Hospital told Shakhnazarov that Mamurov faces a marathon of surgery to repair two fractured legs and a broken spine. He was in intensive care and listed in critical condition on Dec. 28

The injured man has not yet been told his four co-workers were killed.

-Canadian Press

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