Three workers lost their lives and two others were injured in a tragic accident at a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal under construction in Port Arthur, Texas, early Tuesday morning.
The incident occurred around 2 am at the Port Arthur LNG construction site located on South Gulfway Drive in Sabine Pass, roughly 90 miles east of Houston.
The workers were on a scaffold surrounding the top portion of a concrete LNG containment tank when a part of the structure suddenly collapsed.
According to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, the collapse caused three workers to fall several stories to the ground.
Two of them were declared dead on the spot. A third, who was initially found alive, was taken to the hospital, where he later died after going into cardiac arrest.
The deceased have been identified as Felipe Mendez, 25, of Houston; Felix Lopez, 42, of Pearland; and Dontrell Magee, 41, also from Houston. Magee was pulled from the site with signs of life but did not survive his injuries.
Two more workers who were still on the remaining part of the scaffold were injured during the collapse. They were transported to a hospital and treated for injuries that were not considered life-threatening. Both were released after receiving medical attention.
Images from the accident site showed one section of the circular scaffold hanging from the structure, still attached at one end.
The construction site is part of Sempra’s Port Arthur LNG terminal, a large-scale energy project that began its first phase of construction in 2023.
The facility, once completed between 2027 and 2028, will include two liquefaction trains and is expected to have an export capacity of 13 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). It is situated along the Sabine-Neches Ship Channel, near existing LNG facilities such as Golden Pass LNG and Sabine Pass LNG.
Port Arthur LNG’s entire production capacity is already secured through long-term contracts with global energy companies, including ConocoPhillips, RWE, PKN Orlen, INEOS, and Engie.
Bechtel, the contractor leading the construction work at the site, confirmed in a statement that a “tank jump form system incident” had occurred at elevation.
After the accident, Bechtel immediately stopped all work at the facility and sent workers home to be with their families. The company stated it is fully cooperating with officials and has launched an internal review to understand what went wrong.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has been notified and is expected to lead the investigation into the cause of the collapse.
Local authorities have also opened their inquiry into the accident.
A contractor spokesperson expressed deep sorrow, stating that their thoughts are with the families and coworkers of those affected by this tragic event.
Thousands of workers are employed at the Port Arthur LNG project, and safety remains a priority.
References: AP News, Khou
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