Steel Block Smashes Into Toilet; Worker Hurt

Tue., Jan. 5, 1999

From Staff

A steel block broke free from its lashings on a crane and smashed into a portable toilet Monday, seriously injuring a construction worker inside.

The worker, who was not immediately identified, suffered head injuries, two television stations reported. The man was in serious condition Monday night at Harborview Medical Center, a nursing supervisor said.

A construction official at the scene said the main block - a device that includes a pulley - and its tackle were strapped to the crane while a secondary block was being used.

The binding holding the main block fell away, and the block swept across the work site at the end of its cable, hitting the toilet.

The accident occurred at the new exhibition hall construction site south of the Kingdome, said Gus Sestrap, a Turner Construction Co. spokesman.

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