Devon Evans, Gleaner Writer
Spectators watch as emergency personnel scramble to rescue workers on site at yesterday's collapse of the Bahia Principe Hotel in Pear Tree Bottom, St. Ann. - Roger Robinson/Freelance Photographer
OCHO RIOS, St. Ann:
At least 16 persons
were yesterday rushed to hospital following the collapse of a section of the Bahia Principe Hotel under construction at Pear Tree Bottom in Runaway Bay, St. Ann.
According to the police, about 5:00 p.m. a section of the lobby area of the hotel collapsed while workmen were pouring concrete.
Dr. Patrick Wheatle, Medical Officer of Health for St. Ann, told The Gleaner on site that 16 workers received various injuries and were taken to the St. Ann's Bay Hospital. He said three of the workers were in critical condition, including one with a 'very serious' prognosis. This is the second time in exactly three months a section of the Bahia Principe Hotel has collapsed.
In the first incident, on May 2 this year, at least three other workers were injured when the foundation of a section of the hotel gave way while concrete was being poured.
Following yesterday's collapse there was an immediate work stoppage on the site, as hundreds of workers rushed to the scene. Fire personnel spent hours cutting through tonnes of steel and removing piles of rubble in search of other workers, who were suspected to have been trapped, while a medical team remained on standby to offer assistance. A crane was also engaged to assist in removing some of the rubble.
One worker reported that he was at another section of the building when he heard a loud crashing sound.
"It shake up the entire building," he told The Gleaner, adding that it was a scene of chaos as his colleagues attempted to rescue injured workers.
Speaking yesterday on Good Evening Jamaica on Power 106 FM, the Mayor of St. Anns's Bay, Delroy Giscombe, called for technical officers from the Ministry of Local Government and Environment to begin monitoring the facility as the St. Ann Parish Council is unable to oversee such a large scale development.
"They (the developers) are trying to rush it to my understanding. They want it to reach the target date for November for it to be opened," he said, while noting that safety procedures may have been compromised.
The Bahia Principe Hotel is part of the Pinero Group of Spain, which is expected to build three hotels over three years with a total investment of $9.8 billion.
