Hotel construction collapse in Santiago

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kg4jxt

Guest
They don't have any idea why an unshored excavation to a depth of thirty or forty feet might collapse?! Surprise answer: gravity
 
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dulce

Guest
They don't have any idea why an unshored excavation to a depth of thirty or forty feet might collapse?! Surprise answer: gravity

Sadly. just like in other countries, it is costly to construction companies to set up the proper shoring.
This is how my Father died at a construction site in the US. :-(
 
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jd426

Guest
Most people are clueless how much Dirt actually weighs like per cubic foot
.. then take a cubic yard it it or more ,it will crush you like a bug.. and many yards like that are just absolutely devastating.. In that picture ,that little pile in the article picture is probably bout 80,000 lbs of dirt if not a lot more.

Condolences to those who lost loved ones , and prayers for those injured to make full recoveries .. but this should never happen .that is just a crazy depth to dig and not shore up the sides .
 
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caribmike

Guest
3 dead so far. Dogs indicating there are more underneath the rubble.
 
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2dlight

Guest
There is presently a site such the one in this story in Santo Domingo. It is probably deeper than forty feet and not shored on any side, even though it's on the corner of Simon Bolivar and a side street, and a multi-story building right on the other edge of it. Perhaps the ground is safer due to the coral etc.but, you couldn't pay enough to walk into that death trap.
 
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Big

Guest
I always like to see how they use uneven tree branches to prop up concrete walls and steps while the concrete cures
 
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caribmike

Guest
Guess they found another one, I hear the ambulance coming / leaving.
 
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Garyexpat

Guest
It's just weeks ago they had a construction site (between Bella Terra and Plaza International) experience a fairly large washout. Luckily in that one there were no casualties. In the past it would more likely have been Haitian men but with the push on getting illegals out, especially in Santiago, I've noticed more Dominicans on construction sites.
ANY loss of life is a tragedy, especially since it could have been avoided but my only point is that it will hit closer to home for many and MAYBE, just maybe some changes will come about in the construction practices. (yea I have lived here long enough to realize it's not likely).
 
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chico bill

Guest
Shoring or sloping an excavation is the norm in civilized countries - here life is cheap and lawsuits probably tolerable (Construction company pays off judge)

Working is Saudi Arabi many years ago I kept warning my Turkish contractor to quit mounding dirt above his excavation. Coming back late one afternoon to check on them, they had piled twice as much dirt above their excavation and parked two bull dozers atop the mountain of dirt for the night.
I called them in their camp and said get their early in the morning and move your equipment and the dirt away from the excavation - too late it all collapsed that night breaking a 30-inch water main, destroying their dozers and a compressor and generator and a week of excavation work and leaving a large populace without water.
It doesn't take a genius to see these collapses coming.