Worker killed on Strip project
A construction worker was killed Thursday at a Strip construction site when he was cut in half by a counter-weight system used to operate an elevator, authorities said.
The accident occurred just after 6 p.m. at the Pelli Tower at MGM Mirage's CityCenter project, as the worker leaned into the frame of the counter-weight system to grease it, said Scott Allison, spokesman for the Clark County Fire Department.
While the worker was bending over, he was struck by the counter-weight system as it came down at about 300 feet per minute, Allison said.
Part of the worker's body ended up on the second floor, and the other half landed in the basement, Allison said.
The worker was most likely killed instantly.
"He probably had no idea what hit him," Allison said.
The body was removed from the site about 9:30 p.m.
State Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials were investigating the incident.
It was the third death at the CityCenter construction site this year.
In February, two construction workers were crushed to death and two other men were injured when a pair of 3,000-pound walls fell at the construction site.
Yvette Monet, a spokeswoman for MGM Mirage, expressed confidence in Perini Building Co., the firm hired to build the project.
"This is one of the safest construction sites anywhere," Monet said.
She added that the thoughts and prayers of MGM Mirage are with the worker's family.
Monet said there are about 3,600 workers at the site each day.
At the height of construction, which will occur soon, Monet said, 7,000 workers will be at the site.
Allison said he considered CityCenter safer than other valley construction projects. He called Thursday's incident a "freaky accident."
Construction deaths are "inevitable" when there are so many large projects being built, Allison said.
Last week, a worker was killed and two others injured at the Fontainebleau Resort casino construction project when the men fell from a 30-foot wall at the site near Paradise Road and Sahara Avenue.
The Pelli Tower will be the main hotel-casino at CityCenter. Workers have erected about 20 of the tower's 60 floors.
CityCenter is a $7 billion, 66-acre development on Las Vegas Boulevard at Harmon Avenue that will include a 4,000-room hotel-casino and a retail and entertainment district.
