Safety review after glass pane hits car at Waterport Place

A pane of glass from Waterport Place crashed to the ground yesterday during the installation process, hitting a vehicle and prompting an urgent meeting to review safety at the site.

Longhorn Management Company Ltd, which is responsible for the building, confirmed there were no injuries as a result of the accident.

The building has suffered problems in the past, with glass from fitted windows falling onto the road below on at least two occasions.

This latest incident, however, appears to have been an accident during remedial works to address that earlier problem.

According to people who witnessed the scene the car sustained some damage.
There has been issues regarding windows falling from the building on previous occasions and the works being carried out are to remedy the earlier problems.

At approximately 10am “during works to the facade at Waterport Place, a glazed panel was accidentally dropped from the scaffolding on to the protective crash deck below.

Unfortunately some of the material spilled on to the road, damaging a vehicle. Thankfully no injuries were caused,” said a spokesman for Longhorn.

The Government Health and Safety Inspectorate quickly arrived on the scene having been “immediately despatched to investigate the incident” once a call came in from Building Control, a Gibraltar Government spokesman said.

“This is a private development that was undergoing refurbishment. Works at the site have been stopped by the Government’s Health & Safety Inspectors, pending a full investigation.”

The Minister for Health and Safety, Paul Balban, is “…extremely concerned at this latest incident at Waterport Place and has commissioned an immediate full investigation into the matter,” the spokesman added.

An urgent meeting for this morning has been called by the Government’s Inspectorate with the relevant parties of the building site, including Safety Solutions Limited and Safety Services Limited, the health and safety advisors appointed by the contractor.

Pics courtesy of Albert Revagliatte