Tuesday, July 15, 2008 | 3:52 p.m.
Originally posted at 3:06 p.m.
Two workers were injured after falling 22 feet at the CityCenter construction site this afternoon.
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The workers were transported just before 3 p.m. to UMC hospital. They were both conscious and breathing, said Clark County Fire Department spokesman Scott Allison.
The workers, both ironworkers and employees of SME Steel, were on a scissor lift that tipped over and sent them falling to the ground, according to Allison and MGM Mirage spokeswoman Yvette Monet.
A scissor lift consists of an enclosed basket on top of a crisscrossing device that raises workers up and down to reach high spots on a building.
The ironworkers were using the lift inside the casino building to reach the ceiling when a forklift drove by and snagged an extension chord attached to a power box mounted on the scissor lift, Monet said. The force of the forklift caused the lift to topple.
Both workers were wearing personal safety harnesses, Monet said, but it was unclear where or if the harnesses were attached.
Monet said that one worker appeared to have a back injury and the other may have suffered an unidentified fracture. Neither injury appeared upon initial inspection to be life threatening, Monet said.
The state's Occupational Safety and Health Administration is currently investigating the accident. Work was stopped on a small portion of the worksite.
Six workers have died at CityCenter since construction on the $9.2 billion MGM Mirage project started. Safety concerns led to a one-day worker walkout there last month.
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