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At least one dead as building collapses at Curtin University

Phil HickeyThe West Australian
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VideoWorkers gather near the scene of today's fatal building collapse at Curtin University.

A 23-year-old apprentice is dead after a building collapsed at a construction site at a Curtin University campus this afternoon.

St John ambulance confirmed that it had taken two other men to Royal Perth Hospital with multiple injuries.

One man, aged in his late 20s, will undergo surgery today. He’s in a critical condition.

The other is in a stable condition.

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CFMEU State Secretary Mick Buchan confirmed the man who died was in his early 20s.

“We are not going to leave any rock unturned to get to the outcome of what has happened,” he said.

“It’s 2020, these events should not occur in the building and construction industry. Another young worker has lost his life here today.”

The collapse has killed at least one with several others feared injured.
Camera IconThe collapse has killed at least one with several others feared injured.

Four investigators from WorkSafe WA are at the scene looking in the incident, a spokesperson confirmed.

The Department for Fire and Emergency Services said it has sent a structural engineer to the site and is awaiting a crane to check there are no other people inside and to ensure the building is secure.

The facility under construction is part of a project called The Exchange, which includes a hotel, student accommodation and retail — located near Curtin University’s medical school.

Construction on the $110 million site started last year for the new site which is due to house the university's new school of design as well as UniLodge’s Halls of Residence, Nesuto Curtin Hotel and residential apartments.

It was hoped construction on the five-storey complex would in part be ready for occupation this time next year, with the full completion touted for Semester One in 2022.

In order to meet that deadline the website for Exchange details “an intense period of construction” in 2020.

Staff and construction workers wait by the side of the road following the incident at Curtin’s Bentley campus this afternoon.
Camera IconStaff and construction workers wait by the side of the road following the incident at Curtin’s Bentley campus this afternoon. Credit: Holly Prentice

Images show a glass ceiling having collapsed at the construction site and a construction vehicle is thought to have been crushed as a result.

Curtin University sent a text alert to all students following the collapse.

It reads: “There has been an accident on the construction site of Building 418. Emergency services personnel are on site. Please avoid the area and avoid University Boulevard.”

More than 100 workers who evacuated the construction site have since been told to go home.

“Keep in touch with your mates and your employer for further instructions when there will be a return to work,” a union representative told the group of workers.

Many of the workers have remained at the site on a grass verge opposite the scene of the collapse

Police, firefighters and paramedics all remain at the scene.

The incident happened at 12.34pm this afternoon near University Boulevard and Beazley Avenue.

More to come.

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