Five men have died on the job in our province in just one week.
The first incident happened Monday in Wainwright when a man fell from scaffolding. He died of his injuries Thursday.
On Wednesday a worker in Lethbridge tire shop was killed when he was crushed between a forklift and a shed.
Thursday morning a young contract worker fell to his death in one of the stacks of the ATCO Battle River power plant about 200 kilometres southeast of Edmonton.
That afternoon a ramp fell on top of a worker near Conklin killing the man.
Friday morning a man was crushed by a backhoe while at his job 25 kilometres south of Grande Prairie.
None of the incidents are related but Occupational Health and Safety officials say the string of incidents is unusual.
“The construction industry in Alberta is an industry known to have a higher degree of risk than many other industries but it is unusual to see so many incidents in such a short period of time,” said Brookes Merritt with OHS.
Merritt said they are going to continue focused inspections of work sites and educational campaigns. They’re also in the process of hiring more inspectors. There are currently 122 inspectors. By January 2013 they are hoping to have an additional 10.
There were 123 occupational fatalities in 2011. Since September there have been 103 in 2012.
