There is an increasing trend of Hispanics dying while doing construction work

Associated Press:

Construction work, a popular field for new immigrants to booming northwest Arkansas where new buildings seem to sprout every week, is also one of the more dangerous lines of work. That means the numbers of Hispanics injured or killed on construction jobs is growing.

Javier Corona Soto and Angel Pena were both in their late 20s when they took construction jobs. Both men fell to their deaths in what officials call an increasing trend of Hispanics dying while doing construction work.

Pena, employed by Crossland Construction, fell 30 feet from the roof of a Rogers warehouse in 2005. Soto fell 18 feet from a walkway while working on a house in Rogers in 2004.

Construction accidents account for 20 percent of worker fatalities throughout the United States and ten percent of on-the-job injuries and illnesses. Officials say the proportion of those fatalities involving Hispanic workers is increasing.

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