A €16,500 penalty was handed down by the Limassol district court over sweeping safety failures that led to a construction worker’s death when an excavation collapsed, with additional fines imposed on two individuals for their role in the unsafe site conditions.
The labour inspection department said the largest fine, €7,000, was imposed on Pelasgos Homes & Constructions Ltd, the building contractor found responsible for violations that resulted in the fatal accident.
Inspectors concluded that the company failed to take essential precautions during the excavation for a retaining wall, despite the steep drop and unstable slope at the site. The firm did not install proper support along the excavation or shape the slope into terraces, allowing soil to collapse onto the employee who was carrying out waterproofing work.
The department added that the company also failed to identify and implement protective measures based on a formal risk assessment, including those specific to the waterproofing task.It further noted that Pelasgos Homes & Constructions Ltd had not updated the site’s safety and health plan before work began and had not coordinated with the project’s safety coordinator to ensure that safe working methods and the necessary technical measures were in place.
Loizou & Siamtanis Civil Engineers, the project’s contractor and supervising designer, was fined €1,500 for failing to ensure a safety and health plan had been prepared before construction started – a requirement under workplace safety regulations.
The court also fined ABA Polaris Ltd, the project owner, €2,500 for not ensuring that the existing safety and health plan was adequate. Inspectors found that the plan lacked essential measures for managing the risks associated with waterproofing the retaining wall, leaving workers exposed to danger.
In addition to the fines imposed on the companies, the court issued penalties of €3,500 and €2,000 to two individuals for safety violations that contributed to the fatal accident and endangered multiple people.
