2 construction workers die after 80-foot fall from crane near San Francisco

Updated Jun 6, 2014
The crane from which two construction workers fell is seen at a jobsite in Burlingame, California. Credit: Melody Gutierrez/San Francisco ChronicleThe crane from which two construction workers fell is seen at a jobsite in Burlingame, California. Credit: Melody Gutierrez/San Francisco Chronicle

Two men working on a bridge construction site near San Francisco died Friday morning after falling 80 feet from a crane.

According to a report from the San Francisco Chronicle, the men were inside a basket being hoisted up by the crane when the basket fell, plunging into timber covering a 30-foot hole.

The accident came just days after the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration launched a special inspection of construction sites in and around San Francisco. Since May 18, six workers have died in five incidents—all involving falls.

The men, whose identities have not been released, worked for Disney Construction which has been cited twice in the last decade for safety violations. In this incident, Cal/OSHA told the Chronicle “a hook that secured the lift basket to a cable had failed. Cal/OSHA ordered the company to stop operating cranes until â€śhazardous conditions are abated.”

Falls are the number one cause of deaths on construction sites and because of that the national OSHA agency is holding a National Safety Stand-Down dedicated to fall prevention scheduled from today through 6. Cal/OSHA is also offering a new fact sheet on its website to help contractors reduce falls.