BRIEFS. Construction

2 workers injured in collapse

carlos lemos/La prensa

underground: Two workers were injured yesterday when an earthen wall collapsed at a construction site. 1110560

Two construction workers received the biggest scare of their lives yesterday when they were partially buried while doing remodeling work outside the Sheraton Hotel in San Francisco.

One of the workers, Jorge Vega, 25, was hospitalized at the Complejo Arnulfo Arias Madrid of the Caja de Seguro Social with various injuries. The other person, Feliciano Rodríguez, 37, was treated at the scene by paramedics.

Project Architect Audry Solanilla said the accident occurred when the two workers were digging holes to put pipes and other materials in the walls of an excavation to keep them from collapsing.

The architect said that Rodríguez risked being seriously injured so that he could prevent his co-worker from being completely covered in the landslide.

Gregorio Guerrel, an official with construction union SUNTRACS, charged that this type of event is not uncommon in Panama, and that, so far this year, eight workers have been killed in job-related construction accidents. He called for companies to enact greater safety measures.