TORONTO — A new date has been set for a coroner’s inquest into a scaffolding collapse that killed four men in Toronto more than a decade ago.
The inquest into the incident that killed Fayzullo Fazilov, Alexsandrs Bondarevs, Vladimir Korostin and Aleksey Blumberg was initially scheduled for May 2020 but was postponed.
It is now set to begin Jan. 31 and span a week. The inquest will be conducted by videoconference.
The four men, who worked for Metron Construction, fell 13 storeys to their deaths after the swing stage they were on suddenly collapsed on Christmas Eve 2009.
Another worker was seriously injured, and a sixth — who was tethered, as required under provincial law — was left hanging in mid-air but wasn’t hurt.
The project manager, Vadim Kazenelson, survived after he managed to hold on to a balcony when the scaffolding fell.
He was later convicted of four counts of criminal negligence causing death and one of causing bodily harm after an Ontario court found he was aware that protections against falls were not in place.
Kazenelson was sentenced to 3 1/2 years behind bars and his appeal was unsuccessful.