15.01.2012

Man missing after fall

A painter in Detroit, Michigan, is missing after falling 40 metres from the Ambassador Bridge – which connects the USA with Canada - into the Detroit River last Wednesday.

Kent Morton, 27, was working for Seaway Painting of Livonia, Michigan which been contracted to blast and repaint the underside of the bridge. He was one of a crew of six working on the bridge when part of the suspended platform/deck gave way. Co-workers reported that after he fell he resurfaced and attempted to swim to safety before the current took him down stream.
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It looks like part of the decking under the bridge gave way

The Ambassador Bridge's manager of operations Randy Spader said: "First and foremost, our concern is for the man who fell this afternoon. We are praying for a positive outcome to this accident. I really don't know how it happened. We know the risks involved with this kind of work, and our contractors abide by the highest safety standards."

The company also said that it believed that Morton was not wearing a harness.
Search crews from the Coast Guard, Detroit and Michigan state police searched by boat and helicopter as well as divers but unfortunately without success and have now abandoned the search.
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Not the first time

This is not the first scaffold collapse or fall by workers on the Ambassador bridge, a similar incident occurred in November, 2000, when painter Jamie Barker, fell from the bridge into the river. His body was not recovered until April.

Two painters were rescued in June 2001 after scaffolding collapsed, leaving them dangling in their safety harnesses. The coroner in the inquest into Barker’s death made 50 recommendations to improve the safety of those working on the bridge.