Bridge work stopped after beam collapse

CRASHSITE A safety cordon marks the site where five workers were pinned by a collapsed beam from a bridge construction along the Subic Freeport Expressway in Hermosa, Bataan. Two workers died in the accident. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

SAN ANTONIO, Zambales, Philippines — North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) Corp. on Wednesday stopped construction activities at a portion of the expanded Subic Freeport Expressway (SFEx) after a steel girder collapsed on Tuesday, killing two workers and seriously injuring three others.

The victims were working on a bridge when the 18-meter beam, weighing about 180 tons, fell on them around 1 p.m., according to police investigators.

Marvin Tajores and Vivincio Pamisa died instantly, while Joel Pitel, John Ray Salatan and Peter Pahilan had serious injuries.Wilma Eisma, chair and administrator of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, said NLEx Corp. immediately stopped the construction of the Jadjad Bridge at Barangay Tipo in Hermosa, Bataan province. SCTEx-TPLEx link

The bridge is part of the P1.6-billion SFEx expansion project that will connect the free port to the 94-kilometer Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) that also links with the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEx).

DELAY The completion of a bridge along the Subic Freeport Expressway at Barangay Tipo in Hermosa, Bataan, faces delay after construction work is suspended following Tuesday’s accident. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

The project will feature two expressway lanes, two new spans at the Jadjad and Argonaut bridges, and a new tunnel.

“We are deeply saddened by this unfortunate accident,” said lawyer Meiline Maquiling, spokesperson for Sta. Clara International Corp., the project contractor.

Maquiling said the company would extend assistance to the victims and their families.

But some relatives of the victims raised doubts on the safety measures being carried by the contractor at the construction site. Tajores’ sister, Mariam, said the contractor “failed to ensure that the workers were protected [from possible risks at work].”

—Joanna Rose Aglibot