Frantic tradesmen trying to save two colleagues crushed under fallen scaffolding were stopped by police in case they made the collapse worse – as one howled ‘my brother’s down there.’
Blood-curdling screams echoed around a building site in north-west Sydney on Monday as tradesmen in hard hats and high-vis jackets rushed to free two men trapped after a 17metre section of scaffolding came crashing down.
They were desperate to help but police held them back, fearing that dislodging just one piece of steel would cause tonnes of twisted metal and concrete to collapse further and crush the men to death.
A policeman (pictured) approached the agitated men and said: ‘If you move one piece the whole thing may collapse. It’s like a jigsaw puzzle.’
A distraught tradesman holds his hands on his head as he sees the carnage unfolding before his eyes. Right: Tradesmen line up to offer their help as one yells: ‘You have an army ready’
Amid the carnage a policeman (right) took a megaphone and said: ‘Oi everybody, we need you guys to help us,’ before he lowered the device because his radio interfered
‘You’re wasting time. We need access,’ a tradesman can be heard shrieking in mobile phone footage which showed a policewoman ushering the workers back.
Amid the screaming and shouting a policeman said into a megaphone: ‘Oi everybody, we need you guys to help us,’ before he lowered the device because his radio interfered.
‘We are helping,’ one tradesman shouted as another yelled: ‘You’ve got a whole army here – we’re ready.’
Another policeman approached the agitated men and said: ‘If we move the wrong piece more will collapse. It’s like a jigsaw puzzle.’
‘Give us instructions then, let’s do something,’ a tradesman replied.
‘Come on let’s start,’ one yelled.
The policeman explained: ‘If you move anything, boom, collapse…’
At that point an unknown man screamed: ‘My brother’s down there.’
The policeman continued: ‘Listen, listen. Let the ambos stabilise it and as soon as they say ready we’ll get it.’
Harrowing: This is the harrowing moment tradesmen frantically tried to save two of their friends trapped under a mountain of collapsed scaffolding at a construction site
Frantic: Workers desperately tried to free their colleagues for 20 minutes until the wailing stopped and they were ordered to move away
Tragic: Christopher Cassaniti, 18, died in the collapse at Macquarie Park, north-west Sydney on Monday. He is pictured on holiday in Hawaii
Happy family: Christopher Cassaniti (centre) celebrated his milestone birthday with proud parents Patrizia and Rob
Patrizia Cassaniti (pictured with her husband at the scene) runs a coffee and food truck near the construction site where her son Christopher was killed
On his birthday, Mr Cassaniti’s mother paid a moving tribute (pictured) to her son. She wrote on Facebook: ‘Today, 18 years ago, was one of the most terrifying moments of my life that was then fulfilled with much relief, joy and happiness’
Christopher Cassaniti, 18, died in the collapse at Macquarie Park, becoming the fifth person to die at a construction site in Australia this year.
His 39-year-old colleague was pulled from the debris and raced to hospital in critical condition where he has now stabilised.
Mr Cassaniti – whose mother Patrizia served him and colleagues from her coffee van near the site – was in his first job and was pictured celebrating his 18th birthday with workmates just five days before he died.
On his birthday on 27 March, Mrs Cassaniti posted a moving message on Facebook about her son which hinted at a difficult birth before the overwhelming joy of his arrival.
She wrote: ‘Today, 18 years ago, was one of the most terrifying moments of my life that was then fulfilled with much relief, joy and happiness.
‘Christopher Cassaniti was born 2.7kg and 47cm and my tiniest baby has now grown to be the tallest of the whole family in both sides. He is compassionate and shy yet strong and forever helpful.
‘We wish you all the best that the world can dish out and May God be forever in your heart and Bless you with much Joy, Happiness and most importantly health.
‘I love you. Happy 18th Birthday Christopher, always Mum, Dad (Rob Cassaniti) and brothers Adriano Cassaniti and Michael Cassaniti.’
Christopher Cassaniti (pictured) celebrated his 18th birthday with workmates last Wednesday five days before his life was tragically cut short at the construction site he was working at
Heartbroken friends have paid tribute to Christopher Cassaniti (pictured with his mother who ran a coffee truck near the site)
Another man, 39, rushed to hospital in a critical condition (pictured) after a scaffolding collapse at a Sydney construction site
Shattered workers comfort each other at the Macquarie Park apartment block on Monday afternoon
One worker wipes away tears while another receives a comforting hand from his colleague at the horrific scene
Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) state secretary Darren Greenfield told reporters on Monday the boy’s parents were shattered.
‘As you’d expect, they’re devastated to lose their 18-year-old son.’
‘He’s new to this industry, early in his working life. To lose his life doing a job is atrocious.’
He added: ‘These workers were working on the ground as far as I’m aware and it’s come down on top of them. You can imagine 15 metres to 17 metres high, four layers of scaffolding – that’s a lot of steel.’
It comes as police, SafeWork and others try to work out why the collapse happened.
Dave Noonan, CFMEU national secretarty, said it was too early to speculate and an investigation is under way.
‘What we do know is that this working platform has failed and failed catastrophically,’ he told Sunrise.
‘As I have said, if scaffolding is erected safely, maintained properly and not overloaded they don’t fall down. Somewhere along the line there has been obviously a problem. The scenes there yesterday were absolutely traumatic. And chaotic.’
Tributes poured in for Mr Cassaniti from devastated friends on Monday night.
His older brother Adriano posted on Facebook on Monday: ‘You were such a ball of energy and so hard working, you will be sorely missed by all your family and friends. Nothing more could I have asked for in a little brother.’
Benjamin Betros added: ‘You will be dearly missed by all mate. You were a fantastic bloke and had a heart of gold.’
Shatterd: Christopher’s devastated parents Rob and Patrizia Cassaniti at the tragic scene in north-west Sydney on Monday
Christopher Cassaniti (pictured celebrating his 18th birthday with workmates last Wednesday) has been remembered as a friend who saw the best in everyone
‘Today I am crying because I have lost a person who occupied a very special place in my heart,’ Mr Cassaniti’s kindergarten friend Bella Mineo posted on Facebook.
‘You have been my friend since the first day of kindergarten….words can’t express how much this hurts. You were full of positivity, always smiling, always seeing the best in everyone. You are an angel. Those special memories of you will always bring a smile to my face. It hurts me that someone so precious had to pass.’
Family friend Damion King, 16, told reporters he last saw Mr Cassaniti a day earlier.
‘My dad called my mum and told her the news then my sister rang me crying,’ Damion said.
‘That’s when we found out, then about 30 minutes later his brother posted on Facebook saying rest in peace bro. It’s really sad. My sister went to school with him, we used to go on holidays together… he looked after everyone, he was a very caring kid.
‘I was at his 18th on the weekend, this is his first job. He’d just bought a car he’d just started his life… it’s so sad to see, to just lose everything. I talked to him yesterday about his car and all that.’
CFMEU officials remained at the site on Monday afternoon to provide support after Mr Cassaniti’s body was taken away in a white van.
Tradesmen slowly trickled out, with one telling Daily Mail Australia he was ‘too shattered’ to speak.
The family of the man left critically injured arrived at the building site to speak with workers, and appeared angry and distressed by the situation.
‘You were such a ball of energy and so hard working, you will be sorely missed by all your family and friends. Nothing more could I have asked for in a little brother,’ Christopher’s older brother Adriano Cassani (left) posted on Facebook. He’s pictured with Christopher and youngest brother Michael (right)
Distraught colleagues (pictured at the scene on Monday) desperately tried to free Mr Cassaniti from the collapsed scaffolding
Devastated colleagues remained at the site after Mr Cassaniti’s body was taken away in a white coroners van (pictured) late on Monday afternoon
Police reportedly had to use pepper spray and a baton on distraught workers to stop them making the collapse worse as they tried to free their dying colleague from under the collapsed scaffolding.
One officer pulled capsicum spray from their belt holster, holding it ‘at the ready’ while another officer produced a baton before senior officers calmed the situation, The Daily Telegraph reported.
One worker told the publication that he and his co-workers tried to dig below the pile of rubble and free those trapped in the moments after the collapse.
‘We started cutting with the grinders and hammers until about 20 minutes later we couldn’t hear screaming anymore, that’s when the supervisors told us to move out,’ worker Albert Muscat told 7News.
As the scaffolding collapsed, two men standing on one platform were forced to jump for their lives onto the balconies of the building.
‘Two of them jumped onto a balcony… it was their lucky day,’ the worker said.
Others said that after the enormous sound of the collapse, the work site ‘just descended into chaos’.
Dramatic pictures from the scene showed despondent construction workers sitting on the ground desperately awaiting news.
Steve Vaughan, acting superintendent of NSW Ambulance, described the scene as ‘absolutely chaotic and emotionally charged.’
Workers heard a loud bang as a mass of twisted steel and concrete gave way at a block of flats (pictured) in Macquarie Park, north-west Sydney
Rescue workers at the scene where a construction worker was trapped under scaffolding in north-west Sydney on Monday
A crew specialising in structural collapses was on the scene to try to get to the men at the 13-storey residential development. Pictured: Rescue workers at the scene
Dramatic pictures from the scene showed despondent construction workers sitting on the ground desperately awaiting news
A briefing was held for workers at the construction site on Monday afternoon. Pictured: Workers listen to bosses during the briefing
The apartment block was part of the ‘Lachlan’s Line’ project by Greenland Australia, which planned to develop 900 apartments across six blocks in the booming suburb.
Up to 350 construction workers were at the site every day.
An update earlier this year said that work was nearing completion and scaffolding was being brought down.
Sydney’s north-west has become a boom area in recent years, with dozens of high-rise apartment blocks being built.
Developers have often built the apartment blocks with specific designs attempting to attract rich international buyers.
Safework NSW said in a statement: ‘While the cause of the collapse is unknown at this stage, SafeWork is employing significant resources to fully understand how this tragic incident occurred.’
Firemen were using a specialist rescue vehicle to try to get to the trapped men. Pictured: Traffic outside the site
Construction company Ganellen confirmed it was assisting officials in the rescue. Pictured: A helicopter at the scene
Two workers were trapped in the collapse around 12.30pm which caused a loud bang and mass panic around the site. Pictured: Authorities at the scene