A BRIT workman has been crushed on a construction site after “several tons” of rocks, concrete and scaffolding fell on him.
Stonemason Alistair Bidmead was working on the facade of a secondary school in Sydney, Australia, on Friday when the building collapsed.
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He was restoring the third floor of the main building of the 170-year-old Fort St High School in Petersham when disaster struck.
Originally from the Cotswolds, Gloucestershire, Alistair was buried under the rubble shortly before 11:30am after it collapsed.
The skilled craftsman would have died instantly after being struck by a sandstone concrete slab weighing several tons.
According to 9News, some of Alistair’s shocked colleagues saw their friend being buried by the heavy materials.
The stonemason, owner of Bidmead & Co, based in Fairlight on Sydney’s northern beaches, was unable to be resuscitated.
NSW Ambulance Inspector Michael Corlis announced that he had died at the scene.
He said: “His injuries were [such] he couldn’t be resuscitated…unfortunately we couldn’t do anything.”
Fire and Rescue NSW Adam Dewberry said it will be a “complex operation to recover the person”.
He continued: “The students have been removed from the area and cared for.
“One of our firefighters took the time to talk to a colleague to make sure everything was okay.”
A crane arrived five hours after the devastating incident to remove the hefty slab of concrete and bulky debris to retrieve Alistair’s body.
He was found among the mangled scaffolding and rubble.
A facade is believed to have come loose from the structure before collapsing on top of it.
A parent of a student at the school said, “It’s so very sad, that’s why I went to pick up my son and bring him home to comfort him.”
Alistair was a classically trained stonemason who founded a company that focused on restoration services for monumental buildings.
The tradie also enjoyed building new masonry.
He has been in the business for over 16 years, leading and leading projects in both Australia and the UK.
The education department and the school declined to comment.
A crime scene was set up with an investigation by the police and Safe Work Australia.
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