10 workers dead as lift snaps from high-rise

A PLATFORM lift at a building construction site on Legaspi and Paseo de Roxas in Makati plunged 25 floors Thursday, killing 10 workers, officials said.

The workers were installing glass windows on a high-rise condominium under construction, called Eton Residences, when the platform gave way, sending them tumbling down from the 32nd to the seventh floor, Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay Jr. said.

Police and rescue officials said 10 workers were killed. One worker was in critical condition, but it was not immediately clear how many were on the platform, Binay said.

In a statement, building owner Eton Properties Philippines Inc. said the workers were employees of its glass contractor and were on a break at the time of the accident.

The workers took the platform to go up the 39-story building “instead of taking the stairs,” the statement said.

“However, since the platform can only carry a few workers, the cable snapped,” it said, adding the company had ordered a review of the safety regulations of its subcontractors and construction management.

The company’s Web site describes Eton as the global real estate arm of the Lucio Tan Group and a sister company of Philippine National Bank and Philippine Airlines. It says the company also has operations in Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Binay ordered construction at the site halted “until we are sure that the workers there are safe.”

The Philippines, particularly Manila, has been experiencing a construction boom since last year, boosted by low interest rates, the large amount of foreign remittances from the 9 million Filipinos working abroad, and the need for more office space to accommodate the country’s growing outsourcing industry. AP, with Ferdinand Fabella