Contractor fined for Crossrail incidents

2 August 2017


Great Britain - The Bam Ferrovial Kier (BFK) joint venture has been fined GBP 1M for three health and safety incidents on London’s Crossrail project, one of which involved the death of a worker.

A spokesperson for the Health and Safety Executive said: “Southwark Crown Court heard Renè Tkácik died after being crushed by falling wet concrete on 7 March 2014. Two other men were injured following separate incidents within six days of one another, on 16 and 22 January 2015. All three incidents took place in the tunnels around the Fisher Street area.

“Renè Tkácik, 43 from Slovakia, was working on a team enlarging the tunnel by removing rings of the existing pilot tunnel and spraying walls with liquid concrete.During this operation, a section of the roof collapsed, fatally crushing Mr Tkácik.”

On 16 January 2015 Terence ‘Ian’ Hughes was collecting some equipment from inside one of the tunnels when he was struck by a reversing excavator. He suffered severe fractures to his right leg and crush injuries to his left knee and shin.

Six days later worker Alex Vizitiu, who was part of a team tasked with spraying liquid concrete lining, was assisting with the cleaning of the pipes that supply the concrete. Due to a lack of communication one of the lines was disconnected and he was hit by pressurised water and concrete debris. He suffered head and hip injuries as well as a broken finger and was hospitalised for six days.

A spokesperson for the contractor issued the following statement: “The BFK joint venture has been sentenced[…] in the Southwark Crown Court in relation to three Health & Safety Regulatory Breaches arising from three incidents that occurred on the Crossrail project between 2014 and 2015.

“BFK acknowledges and accepts the sentencing decision of the Court and is fully committed to achieving high standards of health and safety. It is with deep regret that these incidents ever occurred and BFK will continue to strive to achieve a working environment free from incident. We wish to convey our sincerest sympathies to all the families, friends and colleagues of the individuals involved.”