KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – One man is dead following the collapse of a section of a building on the construction site of the controversial Bahia Principie hotel on Jamaica’s north coast.
The name of the man who died on Thursday morning has not been released.
The dead man was among 15 workers injured when the accident took place Wednesday. Two of them are still in critical condition at hospital.
Following the accident, chairman of the St. Ann Parish Council Delroy Giscombe held an emergency meeting with the hotel’s developers and ordered that work cease immediately to allow an investigation.
A meeting is set to be held on Thursday evening as the probe into the accident continues. According to Giscombe the meeting will involve personnel from the Parish Council as well as representatives of the Ministry of Labour.
This is the second accident on the work site in recent months. In May a section of a decking, measuring about 800 square feet collapsed injuring three workers.
Minister of Development Colin Campbell has written to the Pinero Group, the developers of the hotel, requesting an early meeting to discuss the construction problems.
In his letter, Campbell said the government needed to be assured that proper procedures are in place before work resumes on the project.
The Pear Tree Bottom Hotel has also been hit by other misfortunes this year.
Work on the hotel was temporarily halted in May after a High Court judge quashed the environmental permit that allowed the developers to proceed with the construction of the multi-billion dollar hotel. The judge, on June 23, varied his ruling, allowing construction work to continue.
On July 10, two workers and a guard were shot and injured as more than 600 employees at the site rioted, protesting against the late payment of wages.
The first phase of the hotel, consisting of 734 rooms, was originally scheduled to be completed in October, but it was unclear if that deadline will now be met.