By Ted JeoryA HEALTH and safety investigation has been launched after a teenage builder plunged to his death after losing his footing on the roof of a house.
By Ted Jeory
A HEALTH and safety investigation has been launched after a teenage builder plunged to his death after losing his footing on the roof of a house.
The 19-year-old man died in Colchester General Hospital just hours after the accident at a building site in Stanway yesterday afternoon.
The builder, who has not been named, but who comes from Colchester, had been working on the roof of a new house on the Persimmon Homes development in Winstree Road when he slipped and fell on to scaffolding a few metres below.
Paramedics and the Essex Air Ambulance were sent to the scene, while firefighters were also called to help reach the stricken builder, who was stuck in the scaffolding high off the ground.
Essex Ambulance Service operations manager, Terry Howell, said: “It appears that the man had been working on the roof when the accident happened.
“When I arrived he was lying on scaffolding just below the roof level in a state of cardiac arrest.
“The crews pulled out all the stops and we worked on him for almost 45 minutes before he was flown to Colchester General Hospital, but unfortunately he died a short time later.”
A spokesman for Essex Police added: “He slipped down the roof and collided with some scaffolding which was at gutter level.
“The Health and Safety Executive has been called in to investigate. A post-mortem examination will be held and the report will be passed to the coroner.”
ted.jeory@eadt.co.uk
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