Fourth worker trapped in Cuban chimney collapse is found dead, brings the death toll to two

From our Bureau of Socialist Workplace Safety

Sadly, when rescuers finally reached the the body of the worker who remained trapped in a pile of rubble, they discovered he had already died.

The wall collapse that killed him and another worker was caused by negligence. A second chamber needed to receive the soot produced at the power plant had never been built — as required — and the weight of the excess soot proved to be too much for the brick wall in the chamber where these men were working. See our previous post.

Loosely translated from Periodico Cubano

Cuban official media confirmed the discovery among the rubble of the lifeless body of Lázaro Frank Montero Pita, a 57-year-old worker at the Specialized Construction and Assembly Company.

Lázaro was the fourth individual trapped in the collapse of a wall chimney inside the Antonio Guiteras de Matanzas thermoelectric plant on April 7.

So far, the tragic accident has recorded two fatalities: Alexis Bernardo Labrada, 47, and Lázaro Frank Montero Pita, both members of the aforementioned construction company.

The casualty and damage report also includes two injured: Maikel López Navarro, admitted for a pelvic fracture in the general surgery room of the Faustino Pérez hospital; and Ángel Dioris Pérez Montoya, 30, who was the first to be rescued and released in the morning.

As confirmed by Cubadebate, the relatives of Montero Pita were already informed about the sad news and the corpse was transferred to Legal Medicine, after the discovery and 16 hours of incessant rescue work.