1 dead, 6 hurt in Valenzuela construction site accident

One worker died and six others were hurt after a metallic round bar they were trying to attach to a wooden structure in a construction site hit a high-voltage transmission wire late Monday afternoon in Valenzuela City.

Police named the fatality as Larry Ortega, 23, of Quezon province.

Those who were injured were identified as Jonathan Valenzuela, Jimmy Monares, Charlito Mepieza, Marlon Asidillo, Basilio Sedorio and Noli Patag.

The five are now confined at Valenzuela Medical Center, said Police Officer 3 Dalton Rodriguez, case investigator.

Deadly contact

The accident happened at Cowloon Compound in Tatalon, Barangay (village) Ugong.

According to the police report, the contact between the high-voltage wire and the metallic bar sent electric shocks to six workers who were holding the bar.

Upon seeing this, Ortega rushed to help Valenzuela, the person nearest him, but he was electrocuted in the process.

Fellow construction workers managed to take the victims to the hospital, but Ortega was declared dead on arrival, Rodriguez said.

Electric currents

“Of the victims, only Ortega’s body did not release the electric currents trapped inside. That’s why he died. When you get electrocuted, your body has to release the currents,” he explained.

Work in the area resumed after what the police official called was an “unfortunate industrial accident.”

Senior Police Officer 3 Jess Sagisi, senior investigator, said that the other six who remain confined in the hospital were already in stable condition.