35-year-old man charged with involuntary manslaughter in death of 49-year-old worker

Police have arrested a 35-year-old man in connection with the fatal work accident involving a 49-year-old Pakistani man in Pagrateika on Monday afternoon.

The 35-year-old tenant of the building where the tragic incident occurred is facing charges of involuntary manslaughter of the foreign national worker, while Corfu Police are already conducting an investigation into the circumstances of his death.

The unfortunate man died after being crushed by a wall during reconstruction work on the interior building in Pagrateika, which housed the Physical Science Laboratory Centre and the former 4th High School until September 2022. The 49-year-old man was found by a third party who called the police.

A team is coming from Ioannina

Tomorrow morning, a team of the Ioannina Inspectorate for Health and Safety at Work is expected in Corfu to carry out an inspection at the scene of the accident. The technical team consisting of two engineers will examine a number of other issues related to the incident in order to prepare the inspection report to be sent to the Public Prosecutor. One of the issues to be investigated is whether there was a permit for construction work at the site, under what conditions it would be carried out, whether the 49-year-old had a residence permit and green card, as well as whether he was insured and in what capacity.

However, according to information received by Enimerosi, the unfortunate man had been living in Greece for at least the last six years, he had a residence permit and was working at the site of the former Physical Science Laboratory Centre under an employment contract.

He was alone

However, the questions that arise regarding the circumstances of the accident and whether security measures were observed are many and are expected to be answered following the completion of the preliminary investigation and the autopsy to be held on Friday.

However, the initial estimation is that the 49-year-old was attempting to knock down the wall from the base and not from top to bottom, as is the usual procedure, resulting in it collapsing before he could get away. The man was reportedly working alone at the time of the accident.

In fact, as reliable sources told Enimerosi, he was not specialised in construction work and appeared in the ERGANI system as a hotel employee.

Lack of inspections on construction sites

According to the secretary of the Corfu Union of Builders Yiannis Lasthiotakis, work accidents are frequent and many are fatal. "The main problem is that there are no inspections for permits and safety measures for workers in any construction site. There is serious understaffing in the labour inspectorates. And if they want to carry out inspections, they don't have the staff. In the event of a work accident, a technical team comes from Ioannina, because there is none here. The tourist season is now ending and ours in the construction sector is opening in view of the new tourist season for 2024. But because there is a specific time for renovations and new constructions, there is incredible pressure on the workers," he said.

MARIA BAZDRIYIANNI