Another worker dies in Korean shipyard in Subic

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—A worker at a Korean shipyard here died on Wednesday when he fell from a forklift and into a drainage canal.

Taek Kyun Yoo, general manager of the Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Philippines Inc., said shipyard workers took James Garagal, 25, to a hospital in Olongapo City but doctors failed to revive him.

Garagal’s death brought to 32 the number of workers who died from accidents in the shipyard since 2006, according to the labor federation Manggagawa para sa Kalayaan ng Bayan.

Yoo said Garagal hitched on a forklift but the operator accidentally maneuvered it to hit a concrete structure, causing Garagal to fall into a canal and hit a concrete slab.

He said the police had questioned the forklift operator, whom he did not identify.

A Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority official, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak on the subject, said Garagal was working for a Hanjin subcontractor.Robert Gonzaga with a report from Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon