The identities of the three construction workers who died after falling off a scaffold in
West Campus were released Friday morning.
On Wednesday, three laborers working on the exterior on a 236-foot-tall high-rise
residential tower at 21st and Rio Grande Streets fell to their deaths when a scaffold
partially collapsed between the 11th and 13th floors. A fourth worker survived by jumping from the scaffold back into the building as the scaffold failed.
An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the scaffold's collapse.
The three deceased males were Hispanic foreign nationals from Latin America:
Wilson Joel Irias Cerritos, born in 1979, was from Honduras.
Raudel Ramirez Camacho, born in 1982, was from Mexico.
Jesus Angel Lopez, born 1981, was from Honduras.
The release of the identities comes as the Workers Defence Project, an Austin-based
organization, is preparing to release a report summarizing working conditions for
construction workers in Austin. The project plans to release their full report Tuesday at
City Hall.
An executive summary of the report was released Friday which said 142 construction
workers died throughout the state in 2007. The summary also mentioned various issues
facing construction workers in the city, which include high mortality rates and few
employment benefits.
Senior Police Officer Veneza Aguinaga, a spokeswoman with the Austin Police Department, said in an email correspondence, there was no more information regarding the incident.
