Two Killed in Shipyard Accident

According to wire reports, two workers were killed and two others injured earlier this week after falling about 65 ft. to the ground when a 246-ton steel block fell over on a ship under construction in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture. The four were working on the construction of a 90,000-ton containership for a German client at a shipbuilding dock of IHI Marine United Inc., launched in 2002 via the partial merger of Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co. and Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd. The accident took place shortly after 9 a.m., when they were trying to fix the steel block to the ship. The block -- 15 meters in height, 16 meters in width and 2.5 meters thick -- fell over the port side of the ship, throwing the four to the ground. It was windy in Kure early due to a typhoon-turned depression, but it is unknown if the weather had anything to do with the accident. The vessel, for which IHIMU received an order on April 5, is expected to be competed at the end of November.