Workers Plunge 100 Feet to their Deaths

Jan. 4, 2002
Three workers lost their lives yesterday in a tragic, almost unbelievable incident.

In a tragic, almost unbelievable incident, three workers in Arkansas lost their lives yesterday. To say that it could have been avoided is probably a gross understatement.

The three men were replacing wires on a looming, 250-foot-tall cellular telephone tower near Little Rock, Ark., fell to their deaths Wednesday when the rope used to hoist them up broke.

The men, who worked for Allstate Construction Co. of Wagoner, Okla., were replacing guy wires on the tower owned by Alltel Corp. when the tragedy occurred. Investigators from the local sheriff''s office allegedly were told that the crew''s supervisor, Forest Barnes of Muskogee, Okla., ran a rope up the tower, tied one end of rope to some part or device on a pickup truck and the other end to the men. He then backed the truck up, hoisting the men in the air.

At some point during the dangerous operation, the rope gave way, sending the three men - Brian Barnes and John Seabolt of Muskogee and Jamie Anders of Hattiesburg, Miss. - plummeting to the ground. Brian Barnes was the nephew of Forest Barnes.

David Bates, assistant area director for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration''s (OSHA) Little Rock office, said his investigators are looking for Forest Barnes and hope to talk to him soon. Bates added that from what sheriff''s investigators were able to tell him, the rope used to hoist the men in the air was made out of some type of hemp or nylon, rather than metal.

Bates said that OSHA investigators have yet to conduct their own interviews, and are not sure at this time how the men were attached to the rope or each other.

by Sandy Smith ([email protected])

About the Author

EHS Today Staff

EHS Today's editorial staff includes:

Dave Blanchard, Editor-in-Chief: During his career Dave has led the editorial management of many of Endeavor Business Media's best-known brands, including IndustryWeekEHS Today, Material Handling & LogisticsLogistics Today, Supply Chain Technology News, and Business Finance. In addition, he serves as senior content director of the annual Safety Leadership Conference. With over 30 years of B2B media experience, Dave literally wrote the book on supply chain management, Supply Chain Management Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons, 2021), which has been translated into several languages and is currently in its third edition. He is a frequent speaker and moderator at major trade shows and conferences, and has won numerous awards for writing and editing. He is a voting member of the jury of the Logistics Hall of Fame, and is a graduate of Northern Illinois University.

Adrienne Selko, Senior Editor: In addition to her roles with EHS Today and the Safety Leadership Conference, Adrienne is also a senior editor at IndustryWeek and has written about many topics, with her current focus on workforce development strategies. She is also a senior editor at Material Handling & Logistics. Previously she was in corporate communications at a medical manufacturing company as well as a large regional bank. She is the author of Do I Have to Wear Garlic Around My Neck?, which made the Cleveland Plain Dealer's best sellers list.

Nicole Stempak, Managing Editor:  Nicole Stempak is managing editor of EHS Today and conference content manager of the Safety Leadership Conference.

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