Crossrail firm fined £1m over worker's death and other safety breaches

Contractors working on Crossrail have been fined more than £1m over the death of a worker and two incidents in tunnels being built in central London.

Health and safety investigators found that “simple measures” to provide safe exclusion zones would have prevented all three incidents.

The contractors, Bam Ferrovial Keir (BFK), a joint venture of three construction companies led by Bam Nuttall, pleaded guilty to three offences at Southwark crown court.

Renè Tkáčik, 43, from Slovakia, was killed in March 2014 when a section of the tunnel roof collapsed on him while he sprayed the walls with liquid concrete.

In January 2015, Terrence Hughes had one leg severely fractured and the other crushed by a reversing excavator. Six days later, Alex Vizitiu was hit by pressurised water and concrete debris, and spent six days in hospital with head and hip injuries.

All three incidents took place in the Fisher Street tunnels below Holborn. About 26 miles of tunnels have been constructed using boring machines, but entrance tunnels and walkways are dug out and lined by workers spraying concrete.

Annette Hall, the head of operations at the Health and Safety Executive, said: “The omission to implement exclusion zones in a high-hazard environment was a consistent failure in this case. Had simple measures such as these been taken, all three incidents could have been prevented, and Renè Tkáčik may not have died.

“We believe every person should be healthy and safe at work. Here, all three workers were taking part in one of the most important and challenging infrastructure projects of the decade. It was this joint venture’s duty to protect its dedicated and highly skilled workforce. On these three occasions, BFK failed in its duty, with tragic consequences for Renè Tkáčik and his family.”

BFK was fined a total of £1,065,000 for breaching safety regulations and ordered to pay costs of £42,337. The company said it accepted the sentencing decision: “It is with deep regret that these incidents ever occurred and BFK will continue to strive to achieve a working environment free from incident.”

Simon Wright, the Crossrail programme director, said: “Everyone who works on Crossrail has been affected by the death of Renè Tkáčik in March 2014. Our thoughts and sympathies are with Renè’s family, friends and colleagues.

“Crossrail has a good safety record and sets the most stringent contractor safety requirements in the industry. Our contractors know what we expect of them and what is needed to be done to achieve this.”

The Unite union said the industry should learn lessons from the incidents. Its national officer, Jerry Swain, said: “There are clear and straightforward ways of creating a safe way of working when applying concrete to the roof of a tunnel, which would have ensured that no one could have inadvertently entered the danger area.

“Following the tragedy, the companies responsible should have swiftly accepted their guilt, rather than prolong the torment faced by the victim’s family. The industry needs to learn the lessons from this tragedy, especially on major infrastructure projects.”

The £14.8bn Crossrail railway line, which runs between Reading and Shenfield in Essex through central London, will open as the Elizabeth line in December 2018.