Cebu City accident: Painter falls off 17th floor of hotel, dies

A 30-year-old painter was found dead on a manhole in Bgry. Apas, Cebu City on Monday evening, September 16, after he allegedly fell from the 17th floor of a hotel that was under construction. | Contributed photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — During the onslaught of bad weather on Monday evening, September 16, a painter fell off the 17th floor of hotel that was still being constructed in Barangay Apas, Cebu City. 

It took his coworkers around one hour to find the man after noticing that he did not clock out of work. To their surprise, he was found dead lying on a manhole on the ground.

The dead worker was identified as 30-year-old Michael Isidro, a resident of Tanke, Talisay City.

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Isidro, a painter, and his coworkers were working overtime at a hotel that was still undergoing construction.

Police Major Romeo Caacoy Jr., chief of Mabolo Police Station, said that the workers were told to end their work at past 8:00 p.m. that day.

While the other workers were preparing to head home, they noticed that Isidro did not punch out of work and was nowhere to be found.

A witness, Joey Anonuevo, told police that they began looking for his friend, but they were surprised when they found him dead atop a manhole.

How Cebu City accident happened

According to Caacoy, the witness said that they would always attach the harness on the grill of the air conditioner because they believed that it was stronger than any other meta grill.

On Monday, however, the grill where Isidro’s harness was placed broke. 

Caacoy said that when the grill broke, the harness did not only slid off the broken grill but this also damaged the harness causing it to break.

READ MORE: 2 workers die in an accident at a construction site in Batangas

Without the harness to hold him, the victim fell from the 17th floor of the building. His body was found at around 9:00 p.m. 

The other workers told authorities that they did not hear Isidro screaming as he plunged to the ground.

They also said that the wind was blowing strongly at the time of the incident. 

Cebu City accident: Bad weather a factor

One of the factors that could have caused the unfortunate incident was the bad weather and strong winds, said Caacoy. 

But police will still be conducting a deeper investigation to determine what really happened and whether there was a problem with the grills or the workers’ safety equipment.

Moreover, they will be investigating whether there was foul play involved in Isidro’s untimely demise.

The victim’s cadaver has been brought to a funeral home in Mandaue City and will be subjected to an autopsy examination.