The anger and pain was stamped on the face of Balearic Minister for Labour, Eberhard Grosske, yesterday as he inspected the scene of yet another fatal accident on a Majorcan building site. Just 15 days after two construction workers perished under the rubble of the Hotel Tivoli collapse in Arenal, Grosske warned fines and sanctions have got to start being handed out and tough ones. Last week union and construction companies were given just weeks to come up with a new tough security and safety plan and now the need for swift and effective action is more desperate than ever. Yesterday's tragic accident happened just before mid-day. 52-year-old Pedro Villanueva Sanchez, from La Mancha, died after falling from the fourth floor of the residential building on which he was working in calle Roses in the Es Rafal neighbourhood. It appears that the builder lost his balance and fell from the fourth floor. At first he did apparently get caught in the safety net, but the trapped builder could not hold on and he eventually fell some 15 metres to the ground. Fellow builders rushed to his aid, but Sanchez landed head first and died instantly. Builders who rushed to Sanchez' help were faced with a disfigured body lying amongst the rubble. The emergency services were alerted immediately, but there was little para-medics could have done. The National Police murder squad and forensics have been put in charge of the accident investigation and police are expected to carry out a reconstruction of the tragedy today in order to establish exactly what happened.
MINISTER ANGRY AS ANOTHER BUILDER LOSES HIS LIFE
The scene of the tragic accident.