CINCINNATI (The Cincinnati Enquirer) -- A partial collapse at a casino construction site Friday injured roughly 20 workers, and authorities are investigating the cause.
A metal beam fell while workers were pouring concrete on the second floor at about 7:45 a.m. EST, Cincinnati Fire Chief Dick Braun said. The floor buckled and collapsed, and the workers, who range in age from 30 to mid-40s, fell to the first floor below. No workers were underneath the collapse.
Fourteen people were hospitalized at three area hospitals, according to city and hospital officials. Four have been treated and released, two others are expected to be released soon and one or two may stay overnight for observation. Others injured were treated at the scene.
Everyone is expected to recover though some injuries are serious, Braun said.
Jason Mullins, business manager with Ironworkers Local 44, said workers were spreading concrete on corrugated steel for part of what would become the second floor in the main casino building when one corner collapsed, transforming what Steve Rosenthal of Rock Gaming LLC called a 60-foot-by-60-foot bay into a slide toward the collapsed corner.
Mullins' union had 30 members on site. Several saw at least part of the accident occur and helped injured workers.
"Nobody was buried under steel or concrete. Everybody's OK, just shaken up," he said.
City spokeswoman Meg Olberding said workers were sent home while the accident is being investigated.
Rosenthal said construction will halt until contractors and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration considers it safe to resume. Rock Gaming is developing the $400 million Horseshoe Casino on the northeast edge of downtown.
William Wilkerson, OSHA area director, said his office has two investigators at the accident scene in addition to Cincinnati's building inspectors and fire investigators.
OSHA may bring in other expertise and will need a few weeks to complete its investigation, he said. In August, the federal agency signed an agreement with contractors on the project allowing them to self-police safety.
"These are elite companies with an excellent safety record." Because construction projects are constantly changing, it makes more sense to allow firms with good safety records to oversee safety training and proceedures for subcontractors on site, Wilkerson said.
The agency has visited the casino construction site "one or two times to verify (the contractors) were doing what they said they would do," he said.
"Our hearts, thoughts and prayers are with those injured this morning," said Jim Hess, spokesman for general contractor Messer Construction before delivering a short statement confirming that all workers had been accounted for and were being monitored at area hospitals.
Muddy conditions forced firefighters to build a makeshift bridge to transport injured workers from the scene. While the rain hampered rescue efforts, Braun said a structural engineer will have to examine the building to determine what happened.
One of the workers said they had been ordered not to talk.
In October 2010, casino developer Rock Gaming named four Cincinnati-area companies to oversee construction of the $400 million downtown casino: Messer Construction, D.A.G. Construction, Jostin Construction and TriVersity Construction Group.
The last three companies, which are minority owned, will form a joint venture for the project called Pendleton Construction Group LLC to pool resources to increase inclusion and workforce diversity.
On Dec. 16 a parking garage connected with a downtown Cleveland casino also being developed by Rock Gaming collapsed. No injuries occurred in that incident and construction has resumed.
Scott Allen, OSHA regional spokesman in Chicago, said the agency's investigation into the Cleveland accident is still under way and probably will be completed in a month.
The Cincinnati Enquirer
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