2 Dead, 1 Unconscious after Steel Beam Falls at Construction Site Near Tokyo Station (Update 2)

The Yomiuri Shimbun

11:00 JST, September 19, 2023 (updated at 17:00 JST)

A 15-ton steel beam fell from the seventh floor of a construction site in Tokyo’s Yaesu district Tuesday morning, leaving two workers dead and another unconscious and in critical condition.

According to a senior official at the Metropolitan Police Department’s Chuo Police Station, the station received an emergency call around 9:25 a.m. saying a steel beam had slipped, leaving several workers injured at the site near JR Tokyo Station.

During construction work, a steel beam, about 30 meters long, fell from the seventh to the third floor of the building. Four workers who were on the seventh floor fell with the beam. Another worker on the third floor was caught in the impact.

Two of the five workers, one in his 30s and the other in his 40s, were confirmed dead at a hospital, and another in his 40s was left unconscious and in critical condition. The remaining two, both in their 20s, were injured but in stable condition, police said.

A 51-story commercial complex with a four-floor basement is being constructed at the site, about 200 meters east of the Yaesu exit of JR Tokyo Station. According to the office of a joint venture between major general contractors Obayashi Corp. and Taisei Corp. that is in charge of the work, the beam was being hoisted at the time of the accident. The police are investigating the situation.

Construction began in 2021 as part of a project to redevelop the Yaesu area. The building will house offices, restaurants and a bus terminal, among other facilities, and work is scheduled to finish in 2025.