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Rescue attempt claims five lives on South African sewerage project
A 5m deep excavation has collapsed onto a workman during installation of sewerage pipes on a South African construction project. Four colleagues tried to assist the trapped man and it was during the attempted resue that a further collapse occurred and the four other workers died.
Comment: This horrific incident highlights the dangers present during groundwork. There were three excavation deaths on UK construction projects in 2008. In addition, this incident demonstrates the importance of having contingency plans in place to assess and manage incidents in order to minimise any further harm or loss.