'Several critical safety failures' behind B.C. workers death, WorkSafeBC says

WorkSafeBC says a worker killed in Vancouver last year when a concrete mould fell 26 storeys shouldn’t have been able to stand where she was. A load on a crane fell from the top of the building smashing multiple floors of the Oakridge Mall construction in Vancouver, B.C., on Feb. 21, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

WorkSafeBC says a worker killed at the massive Oakridge Park development site in Vancouver last year when a mould used for concrete fell 26 storeys should never have been able to stand where she was.

A report released by the province’s worker safety agency says “several critical safety failures” are to blame for the death of Yuridia Flores at the site in February 2024.

The accident resulted in about 1,700 workers being evacuated from the five-million-square-foot project that is a partnership between developers Westbank and QuadReal Property Group. It was among a series of crane accidents in Vancouver last year.

The report says CCTV footage revealed there were “no effective controls in place” and safety protocols were not followed, with workers often under suspended loads and entering areas that should have been off-limits as “ground control zones.”

“The ground control zone is a designated area typically identified with barriers and/or red danger tape that workers and other persons should not enter,” the report says.

Flores was standing in what should have been a ground control zone, providing traffic control and spotting, when she was struck by the 9.6-metre-long and six-metre-wide mould, the report released Wednesday says.

The primary contractor, EllisDon, said in a statement that it would “forever be deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Yuridia Flores.”

“We are firmly committed to providing a safety culture that prevents significant incidents from occurring in the future,” it said, adding that the company was reviewing the WorkSafeBC report, but it had “not yet had the opportunity to present our position on these matters to WorkSafeBC.”

The report says Flores “had not received any training or instruction pertaining to ground control, traffic control or spotting.”

The agency says there was a lack of clarity about which contractor was responsible for the control zones and that ambiguity “contributed significantly,” as no single employer took responsibility.

A lawyer for Newway Concrete Forming, the contractor that employed Flores, said in a statement that it has already implemented changes to how it carries out inspections and operates control zones.

“Newway is reviewing the content of the investigation report to determine if there are other areas to address. Newway is committed to ensuring the health and safety of all workers on the sites where it works,” the statement said.

The report says that on the day of the accident, several workers were pushing the mould as it was rigged to a crane as part of the process to get it from Level 26 to Level 27 when it “suddenly accelerated out of the side of the building,” falling on Flores.

The report says pins that were part of the system that connected the mould to the crane gave way and a brake line was ineffective. It says the front part of the rigging used hooks with safety latches while the back portion featured a “hybrid connector assembly that was not approved by the manufacturer or a professional engineer.”

EllisDon did not ensure that the hazards were identified or that the safety measures for critical lifts and overhead work were co-ordinated, exposing workers to serious risks, the report says.

“EllisDon failed to ensure that there was adequate planning, co-ordination, hazard identification, risk assessment, training, and supervision for the critical lift and overhead work on the day of the incident,” the report says.

It says the company also failed to review policies and procedures, including those for spotters and ground control zones during the hoisting and repositioning of the mould, “leading to the development of unsafe conditions.”

“The inadequate fulfilment of prime contractor responsibilities was a key contributing factor in the incident,” the report says.

This report by Ashley Joannou, The Canadian Press, was first published March 12, 2025.