2 Workers Fatally Fall Down Elevator Shaft in St. Louis Construction Accident

NTD Newsroom
By NTD Newsroom
June 5, 2018US News
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Two workers fell to their deaths down an elevator shaft while renovating a building in St. Louis, Missouri on June 4.

The workers were renovating the International Shoe Building in the 1500 block of Washington Avenue.

St. Louis Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards told Fox News that the pair was working in a cable-supported lift box just before 11 a.m. when the supporting cable parted, sending the two plunging to the bottom of the elevator shaft.

The International Shoe Building in downtown St. Louis (Google Maps screenshot)
The International Shoe Building in downtown St. Louis (Screenshot Google via Maps)

Edwards said the workers were cutting cables in the shaft when the accident occurred.

The two workers were converting the International Shoe Building, built in 1909, to a 142-room hotel.

According to Edwards, the two workers were subcontractors with a city permit to do internal demolition on the premises.

City officials speak with construction workers at the site of the accident. (Fox screenshot)
City officials speak with construction workers at the site of the accident. (Fox screenshot)

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has been called in to take over the investigation into the accident.

Work on the property has been temporarily suspended.

The International Shoe Building in downtown St. Louis (Google Maps screenshot)
The International Shoe Building in downtown St. Louis (Screenshot via Google Maps)

The International Shoe Building was designed by Theodore Link, the same architect who designed Union Station.

 

 

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