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by MICHAEL WILSON
A construction worker was killed yesterday when he fell from the bridge spanning the Fresh Kills Creek in Staten Island, the police said. A second worker shimmied down a piling, but was unable to help the man, and was himself rescued by police officers and firefighters.
The accident occurred around 1:15 p.m. yesterday as the workers were painting the underside of the West Shore Expressway overpass near the Fresh Kills landfill, the police said. The worker who died was identified by the police as Bruno Diaz, 24. He fell into the water and did not resurface, said a Fire Department spokesman, Firefighter Paul Iannizzotto. He estimated that the man had fallen 25 to 30 feet.
The second worker, who was not identified yesterday, and a rescuer who was complaining of feeling sick after going into the water were taken to St. Vincent's Hospital in Staten Island, the police said.
The creek is 15 feet deep and navigable only by small watercraft, said Michelle Krupa, a search and rescue controller with the Coast Guard.
About 60 firefighters participated in the rescue effort. Members of the Fire Department on small boats with inflatable sides and members of the police Emergency Service Unit on Jet Skis found Mr. Diaz's body in a weedy area, said a police spokesman, Lt. Brian Burke.
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