We are saddened by the tragedy on Wednesday at the Bahia Principe Hotel at Pear Tree Bottom in St Ann and offer our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mr Linval Mitchell, the Jamaican worker who died in the accident.

We would also like to express our sympathy with the other workers who were injured and wish them a speedy recovery.

Our hope is that the project will not experience a repeat of this type of misfortune and that it will be completed without any other mishap.

Wednesday's deadly accident, however, raises a number of concerns that the Jamaican authorities need to now raise with the Spanish developers, Grupo Pinero. For that was the second time in three months that a section of the hotel had collapsed. Thankfully, the first incident did not result in any fatalities.

However, we now need to know whether the builders are meeting the required safety standards and whether the structural integrity of the buildings is sound.

For the fact is that Jamaica has a duty to the workers on the site to ensure that they are protected during the construction which, based on the latest development, will not end anytime soon.

Further, our tourism authorities will want to make sure that Jamaica's reputation as a visitor destination is not harmed by the possibility of the hotel experiencing another mishap after it has opened and with guests on the property.

For although, we are told, Jamaica is indemnified in cases where visitors are injured at hotels and attractions, tourists don't normally make the distinction between the destination and the resort/attraction when they are injured.

It is therefore important that the government, in its meeting with Grupo Pinero, do more than just talk. The government, we feel, should insist on having its technical experts inspect the work done so far on the hotel. The administration should also have its engineers examine the building plans, as well as the material being used, for therein could lie the problem, given the recent fiasco of substandard cement being sold locally.

The decision taken yesterday to shut down the site is, we believe, the right one. For while we acknowledge that injuries cannot be totally eliminated on construction sites, and the cessation of work may serve as another irritant to the investors, who have already had to cease work on the hotel more than once, it makes perfect sense for us to ensure that the job is being done in as safe an environment as possible.

Executive Class

Gardens with Gravel

Death to the Mullet!