Construction worker at Barclays Center crushed to death

Arena is a joint venture between Forest City Ratner and Greenland Group

The Barclays Center in Brooklyn
The Barclays Center in Brooklyn

UPDATED, Feb. 25, 2:02 p.m.: A construction worker at Greenland Forest City Partners’ Barclays Center was crushed to death today by several falling steel beams at the Brooklyn arena, according to NBC News.

“We are all devastated by what happened,” the company, a joint venture between Forest City Ratner and Chinese developer Greenland Group, said in a statement. “All of us at Greenland Forest City Ratner Partners and Barclays Center extend our most heartfelt condolences to the worker’s family and friends.”

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Greenland Forest City is working with investigators to figure out what caused the accident, the company told NBC. The iron worker, Peter Zepf, was employed by the James F. Stearns Company, a subcontractor of Bankers Steel. Zepf was helping to install the arena’s green roof when he was hit by the falling beams just after 1:30 p.m., and went into cardiac arrest. He was taken to Brooklyn Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. He was 52. [NBC News]Hiten Samtani