The U.S. Dept. of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited a New York City contractor Sept. 27 following the deaths of two workers in a trench collapse last spring at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). Officials say the contractor, Bronx-based Triumph Construction Corp., failed to properly support the excavation.
OSHA proposed penalties totaling $59,153 for four serious violations. Francisco Reyes, 41, and Fernando Lagunas Pereira, 28, were working in the 8-ft-wide, 14-ft-deep trench near a power plant at JFK as part of the airport's $19-billion overhaul. The men were digging under a concrete slab, which broke and collapsed, fatally crushing them both, according to OSHA.
