Building in Cincinnati under construction by Turner partially collapses, killing worker – Construction Dive

UPDATE: Nov. 27, 2019: The worker who had been missing after the collapse was found dead on Tuesday night after an approximately 30-hour search. The name of the deceased has not been released, but Turner Construction confirmed to Construction Dive that he was employed by Gateway Concrete Forming.

"This is an extremely sorrowful time and our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and co-workers at this difficult time," a Nov. 27 Turner Construction statement read. "We want to thank the region's first responders, emergency service workers and Red Cross volunteers for their tireless and selfless efforts through this entire ordeal."

One person was still missing on Tuesday morning after a building under construction by Turner Construction Co. partially collapsed during a pour of temporary concrete formwork on the 7th floor on Monday afternoon in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, the AP reported and Turner confirmed to Construction Dive.

The citys fire department reportedon its Twitter page that search and rescue efforts had been ongoing for more than 19 hours to account for the missing worker. Its unclear whether the missing person was an employee of Turner or a subcontractor.

Turner said in a statement regarding the Nov. 25 incident that four other workers had been treated and released from hospitals. A Nov. 25 AP clip of the event on a local news media's YouTube channel is below.

Despite this being the second high-profile building collapse in two months, following the partial collapse of the Hard Rock Hotel in New Orleans on Oct. 12, the collapse of buildings under construction is rare in the United States.

The cause of the Hard Rock Hotel collapse, which resulted in three deaths, with one of the deceaseds remains still unrecovered, is still unclear nearly two months later as investigations continue.

There are rumors, however, that the structural issues were apparent before the incident. Footage obtained by CBS News showed that workers were concerned about the safety of the structure prior to the accident.

Since then, at least 12 lawsuits have been filed in civil court against Citadel Builders and other parties involved in construction, such as the developer Kailas Cos., designer Harry Baker Smith Architects and electrical subcontractor All Star Electric. Many of the legal actions alleged negligent construction practices, though nothing of the sort has been proven yet.

Whatever the cause of the incident, crisis management in the aftermath is critical.

Thats especially true in a time when social media can facilitate the spread of false or misleading information. Several contractors and communications experted chimed in on this topic just this week, telling Construction Dive that one misleading tweet, for instance, can spread like wildfire and become almost impossible to manage, if the contractors and other parties involved dont have a strong crisis communication strategy in place before the accident occurs.

If it takes several hours for you to get back to the media or update your employees, in that vacuum of silence people are speculating and misinformation is leaking out, Anthony Huey, president of Columbus, Ohio-based consulting firm Reputation Management.

Though many details of the Cincinnati building under construction at 151 West Fourth St. remain unknown at the time of press, its clear that the building was being constructed at least to the height of 7 stories tall at the time of the incident. Documents online refer to coworking office space for lease at that address.

Cincinnati Fire Chief Roy Winston said, according to the Associated Press, that workers on the fifth floor were injured after concrete was poured on the sixth floor prior to the collapse. Turners statement said the incident occurred during a concrete pour on the seventh floor.

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Building in Cincinnati under construction by Turner partially collapses, killing worker - Construction Dive