ORLANDO, Fla (AP) - The Latest on a fatal construction accident at a hotel near Disney World (all times local):
12:30 p.m.
Officials say two construction workers fell to their deaths as they were pouring concrete to build the seventh floor of a 16-story hotel near Disney World.
Orange County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Ingrid Tejada-Monforte said in a news release that the men were pouring concrete near the edge of the highest point when the scaffolding collapsed beneath them at about 4:15 a.m. on Wednesday. One worker was able to grab onto something and was helped up by co-workers.
Tejada-Monforte identified the deceased workers as 34-year-old Lorenzo Zavala and 46-year-old Jerry Bell. She said that both men had died of their injuries when rescue crews arrived at the future JW Marriott Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort.
She says officials are working to determine the cause of the collapse. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been briefed.
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6:22 a.m.
Emergency responders say two construction workers fell to their deaths when scaffolding collapsed above the sixth floor of a hotel under construction near Disney World. A third worker managed to hang on and climb to safety early Wednesday.
The accident happened in Orange County just outside Disney property, according to Fire Rescue spokesman Mike Jachles.
He says there were about 18 workers at the scene when they got the call about the accident at 4:15 a.m. They were working at the top of the hotel, above the sixth floor, where concrete is being poured. Jachles says that the support structure gave way, sending two workers plummeting to their deaths. The third worker sustained minor injuries.
Jachles says the sheriff’s office and federal investigators are examining what happened.
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