Pipe pierces through roof of Velasco walk

At exactly 1:45 in the afternoon, a galvanized iron pipe from the on-going construction site of W.H. Taft Residences pierced through the roof of the Velasco covered walk.

“The pipe came from the [construction site of] W.H. Taft Residences, and hit a certain portion of the Velasco [covered walk],” says John Abkilan, the security guard on-duty at the time of the incident. “Wala namang estudyanteng nasaktan dahil sa insidente [There were no students injured during the incident],” he adds.

The security guards immediately closed off the area of Velasco Walk to prevent students from entering the site of the accident.

In-house Investigator Allan Copones of the DLSU Security and Safety Office (SSO) shares that the pipe accidentally fell when one of the construction workers of the construction site failed to safely transfer the pipe to another location. He tells that the cause of the incident may have been due to the fact that too little manpower was utilized in the transfer of the pipe.

Right after the incident, the SSO conferred with the safety officer and engineer in-charge of the W.H. Taft Residences. Copones said that the administration of W.H. Taft Residences had assured that they will ensure a sufficient number of persons to handle construction materials, and that additional safety measures such as increasing the coverage of safety nets over the immediate area beside the construction site will be implemented immediately.

As of press time, the SSO is still awaiting word from higher offices in the administration if the University will file for damages due to the incident. A multi-sectoral group will meet tomorrow to discuss the matter in finer detail.

Meanwhile, the management of W.H. Taft Residences has, upon being contacted in the late afternoon, declined to speak on the matter.

Photo by Khala Maravilla