Three workmen were seriously injured yesterday after 15 floors of scaffolding collapsed at the building site of a new Jurys Inn Hotel in Milton Keynes, England. Almost 200 other builders escaped unharmed after tonnes of metal and wood began crashing down at the busy commercial area at about 12.30pm.
The injured men, who were taken to hospital by air ambulance within minutes of the collapse, were being treated for serious injuries last night. A spokesman for Milton Keynes General Hospital told The Irish Times that two were undergoing surgery, while the third man had been transferred to a ward.
Thames Valley Police said everyone at the scene had been accounted for. Neil Parkinson, chief pilot for Warwickshire and Northamptonshire air ambulance, said: "There are some tremendous stories of luck and good fortune. The initial details were that we were expecting multiple casualties and fatalities."
Witnesses reported hearing a "groaning" just before the collapse. Nick Reynolds, a receptionist working in a nearby office, said: "It came down like a pack of cards."
The Jurys Inn Hotel, a three-star property with 279 bedrooms, had been due to open in June. A spokeswoman for the Irish-owned Jurys Doyle Hotels told The Irish Times that about 200 workers were working at the site and on another hotel that is being built nearby.
"Our immediate thoughts are with the injured. While we don't yet know the extent of their injuries, thankfully there were no fatalities." She said that Jurys and the developer, McAleer and Rushe, were anxious to confirm the cause. "Both parties have an equal desire to establish the nature of the accident." - (additional reporting PA)