Guangzhou, China— Two workers are dead after scaffolding around a high-rise under construction buckled and fell Saturday, burying them under steel and planks.
The collapse happened at 10:40 a.m. at a commercial tower project in Tianhe District. The scaffolding was on the 22nd to 25th floors. It peeled away from the building. Witnesses heard a loud snap before the structure came down.
Workers on the ground ran. Two did not make it. The metal frame, loaded with concrete debris and wooden boards, hit the podium level and crushed a temporary work shed. Dust covered the entire lot.
Site managers called emergency services. Fire and rescue arrived within 12 minutes. Crews worked with cranes to lift twisted scaffolding poles. Both victims were declared dead at the scene. One was 41, the other 28, both migrant workers from neighboring provinces.
Guangzhou’s construction safety bureau said the project had passed a visual inspection last month. That counts for little now. Preliminary notes point to overloaded platforms and loose anchor bolts. A worker on site said the scaffold swayed in the wind all week.
“The wind was not even strong today,” a concrete worker told investigators. “The frame just gave out. Bolts were missing on the third level. We told the foreman.”
The developer, a mid-sized firm building a 38-story office tower, was ordered to suspend all work. The company’s safety licenses were pulled pending review. Officials from the municipal housing authority said they are auditing three other sites run by the same contractor.
Global Times reported Guangzhou recorded at least seven scaffolding-related incidents in the past year, most tied to high-rise projects racing to meet deadlines. Labor groups say subcontracting and piece-rate pay push crews to overload platforms.
Police cordoned off the site and took statements from 15 workers. A technical team is now measuring anchor points and load records.
Work remains halted and the tower frame sits exposed behind torn safety netting.
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