Story By: Ana Lacasa, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
Video Credit:CEN
This is the moment a worker disassembling a 190-foot antenna falls to his death when the metal structure collapses sending him hurtling to the ground at high speed.
The incident took place on Sunday in the city of Rocha, in the eastern Uruguayan department of the same name and left one worker and two others injured.
The trio were reportedly working to take down the antenna which was deteriorated and not in use.
In the video, a worker can be seen near the top of the 58-metre (190-foot) antenna when the upper section suddenly falls.
However, the section he is holding onto then collapses and is sent falling through the air.
According to local media, two workers were on the antenna at the time of the collapse, with another at the bottom.
The dead worker was named in reports as Ricardo Matias Legrato, 28, and the other two men aged 58 and 25, whose names have not been reported, were taken to hospital with serious injuries. There are no updates on their conditions.
The antenna fell onto a nursery which was empty because it was a Sunday and no other injuries were reported.
It is unclear what the antenna had been used for in the past.
The Uruguayan authorities are investigating the case and have asked State Sewage & Water Works (OSE) who own the antenna for an explanation.
Local media report the workers had basic safety systems in place at the time of the accident. However, an investigation from the general inspection of Work and Social Security of the Ministry of Work and Social Security showed “serious and several irregularities” in the operation.
The company will have to explain these alleged irregularities, according to the Ministry.
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