House painter dies in QC scaffolding accident

MANILA, Philippines -A house painter died while two of his co-workers were injured when the metal scaffolding they were on accidentally touched a high voltage wire in Quezon City late Saturday afternoon.

Ivan Soledad, 28, an employee of the Emmanuel Ahorro Silvestre Construction (Eascon) Builders, fell from the scaffolding,  head first, when a charge of electricity jolted his body.

He was declared dead by attending doctors at the East Avenue Medical Center from a head wound with minor burns on the body. His co-workers – Berlin Asuncion, 31;, and Rommel Peseto, 32, – were confined at the same hospital after sustaining third degree burns.

Senior Police Officer 1 Jaime Gimena, of the Quezon City Police District Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (QCPD-CIDU), said that the incident happened around 4 p.m., Saturday, at a house on K-6^th Street, in Barangay (village) East Kamias while the men were dismantling lead pipe scaffoldings that the trio had used in painting the second floor of Pakistani national Akram Iran’s home.

According to Gimena while the house painters were disassembling the scaffolding, a lead pipe accidentally touched an electrical wire causing electricity to surge through the makeshift ladder.

While Asuncion and Peseto were able to cling to the scaffolding, Soledad fell off and hit his head against the pavement.

Other workers rushed Asuncion and Peseto, along with Soledad, to the nearest hospital.

But Soledad died some three hours after the incident while undergoing treatment for his injuries.