Construction kills 70 people in 12 months

The construction industry killed 70 people in the 12 months to 31 March 2005, according to the latest statistics from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE).

The provisional figure, obtained by CJ today (Friday), means that there were two fatalities less in the past 12 months than in 2003/2004 when 72 people were killed.

The HSE made it clear that the figures are yet to be confirmed "as the statistics are subject to change through quality control". This means that fatalities can be moved to or from different sectors or lost to other industries.

In 2002/2003 there were 71 deaths, in 2001/02 the figure was 85, while the year before that construction deaths totalled 113.