Fatal accident forces AboitizPower to suspend work on power plant

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The AboitizPower Corp., through its subsidiary, the Therma South, has suspended the work of a contractor of a 645-megawatt coal-fired plant here following an accident this week that caused the death of a Chinese worker at the project site. 

Therma South identified the victim as Shah Hong Bing, 39, assistant site manager of contractor Nantong-Dragon and True North.

In a statement, Therma South said True North and Nantong-Dragon were contracted to build the plant’s power block, which will house the generators, turbines and other machines.

Investigation showed that Shah was at Boiler 2 supervising the lowering of a hook block when the accident happened last Monday.

Shah was rushed to the Davao Adventist Hospital where he was pronounced dead. True North immediately reported the incident to the Toril police station and the Department of Labor and Employment.

Therma South president Benjamin Cariaso Jr. said, “The safety and well-being of our workers are of primary importance to us. We all feel this loss deeply.”

Cariaso said Therma South is thoroughly reviewing the safety procedures and standards with their contractors and subcontractors and that it is taking the necessary precautions to ensure that no more accidents happen.

Cariaso said that immediately after the incident, they suspended all the activities of True North.

“We then called for a meeting of all safety officers representing the different contractors on the project to discuss the incident. We reminded all officers and personnel working on the project to always follow safety regulations for equipment, tools and work activities,” Cariaso added.

At present, Nantong-Dragon is reportedly still prevented from resuming its work until all safety requirements and inspection of its tools, equipment and safety regulations are satisfactorily met.

“We have ordered that all equipment of True North be inspected and all equipment, including winch systems, be re-inspected. A new round of certifications from a third-party inspector has been required for these machines,” Cariaso said.