Scotland: workers die in falls from rail bridges

[John Ashworth]

Workers die in falls from Forth and Tay bridges

BBC
Page last updated at 12:28 GMT, Thursday, 28 January 2010

Two workers have been killed after falling from the Forth Bridge and the Tay Rail Bridge in separate incidents.

A member of the Forth Bridge painting team who fell about 150ft from a ladder just before 2100 GMT on Wednesday night was pronounced dead at the scene.

The British Transport Police (BTP) said another worker was also killed after he fell onto a ledge while working on the Tay Bridge.

The incident happened at about 0640 GMT on Thursday.

The first worker was killed when he fell from a ladder on the north side of the Forth Bridge onto scaffolding below the railway tracks.

Police, paramedics and life boat crews were called out but the man died at the scene.

Inquiries surrounding the circumstances of the second death are ongoing.

A British Transport Police spokesman said: "At 6.40am on Thursday, 28 January, BTP received a report of a man having fallen from a ladder onto a ledge under the Tay Rail Bridge.

"The man, who was a contractor, died at the scene.

"Police and paramedics attended the scene and HM Railway Inspectorate has been informed."

A report will be sent to the local procurator fiscal.

David Simpson, Network Rail Scotland route director, said his thoughts were with the men's families and their co-workers.

He added: "It is with great sadness that we have received news of the deaths of two of our contractors who were working on the Forth and Tay Bridges.

"At 8.50pm last night, a member of the painting team working at the Forth Bridge fell from height and subsequently died from his injuries.

"At around 7am this morning, we received reports of a fall at the Tay Bridge. Sadly, this accident has also resulted in the death of one of our contractors.

"These tragic events have deeply shocked and saddened everyone linked to these projects.

"Such events have become extremely rare in the last decade as a result of rigorous safety regimes on both bridges. An investigation into the causes of these accidents is already underway."

Ian Prosser, the director of railway safety at the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR), said inquiries would take place to determine whether safety procedures needed to be tightened following the tragedies.

He said: "Our thoughts are with the families of the two men involved in these separate tragic events.

"Our inspectors have launched an investigation into the Forth bridge accident and we are awaiting further details about the Tay bridge incident.

"We expect to investigate both to find out exactly what happened and quickly identify whether more should be done to prevent other deaths or injuries."

Rail services across the Tay Bridge, which spans the Firth of Tay, are unaffected by the incident. Services across the Forth Bridge are also unaffected.