By CALVIN CORDOVA
CEBU CITY – Five construction workers were pinned to death while several others were injured after a bunkhouse where they slept in collapsed past 2 a.m. yesterday on Archbishop Reyes Avenue here.
The 30-feet bunkhouse made of metal pipes is owned by J.E. Abraham Lee Construction and Development Inc. The structure served as a shelter of the victims who worked in various construction sites in Cebu City.
The victims are from five sub-contractors namely: MUM, Erco, LCPS, PE, and RA Construction.
Nagiel Banacia, chief of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said that aside from the five fatalities, four were seriously injured, 53 sustained minor injuries, while 103 were unharmed.
William Bahao, one of the construction workers, said it was around 2:50 a.m. when he was awakened by a rampaging sound coming from the roof.
The bunkhouse collapsed, pinning the sleeping construction workers.
The 58-year-old Bahao said metal pipes fell on him but he managed to crawl his way out of the collapsed building.
“Thank God I was able to survive. I heard my co-workers shouting for help on my way out. I tried to pull one person but the debris were too heavy and my back was very painful,” said Bahao in Cebuano, while showing his swollen back.
It was around 8:45 a.m. when all the construction workers were pulled out from the collapsed bunkhouse. They were taken to the Cebu City Medical Center.
Authorities didn’t immediately release the names of the victims as they were still coordinating with their families.
Security guard Aguhob Jr. said based on the logbook, there were 153 construction workers who slept in the bunkhouse although there were some who may have not to list their names upon entering the facility.
Butch Abaya, the construction firm’s project engineer, said they will investigate what caused the building to collapse when it was capable of housing at least 200 persons.
The bunkhouse was built in September last year.
Abaya admitted the posts of the structure were not buried though it was normal for such kind of a structure.
The scaffolding-type bunkhouse had four decks. Each deck served as a sleeping quarter of the laborers.
Personnel from the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) arrived in the area to check on the incident.
Cyril Tucao, office-in-charge of the DoLE in Central Visayas, said they will check if the needs of the survivors and those who perished are being taken care of.
The construction firm has promised to provide the needed assistance to the victims.
“We will also check if the workers were receiving right salaries and benefits,” said Tucao.
Also rushing to the area was Cebu City Councilor Jerry Guardo, the chairman of the City Council’s committee on infrastructure.
“This is a very unfortunate incident. We will have an executive session with DOLE and Office of the Building Official so that we can come up with measures and prevent this kind of an incident from happening again,” said Guardo.