Port Arthur LNG Scaffolding Collapse Leaves 2 Dead, 3 Injured

Shortly before 2 a.m. on April 29, 2025, a scaffold collapsed at the Port Arthur LNG construction project in Sabine Pass, Texas. Five workers were on the multi-level platform when it failed. Two were pronounced dead at the scene, and three others were rushed to area hospitals, one with life-threatening injuries.

Investigators with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office say the men fell after “some type of failure in the scaffolding system” but have not yet determined whether faulty components, improper rigging, or overloading triggered the collapse. The affected work zone—part of a massive liquefied-natural-gas terminal being built by Bechtel for Sempra Infrastructure and ConocoPhillips—remains shut down while officials document the scene, interview witnesses, and notify family members. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has been notified as well.

Captain Crystal Holmes of the Sheriff’s Office called the event “a tragedy in many ways,” noting that the loss reverberates across the night-shift crew and the victims’ families. Emergency responders from Port Arthur Fire & EMS, Jefferson County Emergency Management, and company rescue teams remained on site through daylight hours to secure the partially hanging scaffold and crane gear spotted near the fallen section.

Why Scaffolding Failures Are So Deadly

Scaffolds give workers temporary, elevated access to tanks, pipe racks, LNG modules, and other structures. When a connection, plank, or tie-off point fails, people can plunge dozens of feet—often onto concrete slabs or steel equipment. OSHA’s Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries recorded 52 deaths from scaffold falls in 2020 alone, all of which the agency says “can be controlled by compliance with OSHA standards.”

Key OSHA construction-industry rules (29 CFR 1926 Subpart L) require:

• Qualified design and erection. Scaffolding must be engineered or built under competent supervision, with guardrails, midrails, and appropriate load ratings.
• Fall protection and access. Workers six feet or more above a lower level must have guardrails or personal fall-arrest systems, plus safe ladders or stair towers for climbing.
• Inspection before each shift. A qualified person must look for missing pins, loosened couplers, slippery decking, or anything else that could compromise stability.

Scaffold & Height Dangers on LNG Megaprojects

Scaffolding standards are essential at many industrial worksites. Large energy-infrastructure builds such as Port Arthur LNG operate around the clock with hundreds of people working simultaneously—erecting huge concrete tanks, installing piping, setting modules, and welding steel at multiple elevations.

Contractors and project owners are responsible for matching the pace of construction with comprehensive safety oversight—fully engineered scaffold plans, qualified erectors, real inspections, and enforcement when shortcuts appear.

The cause of the Port Arthur LNG scaffolding collapse is still under investigation, and we will be following the details of this incident as they arise.

Our thoughts are with the workers and families impacted by this tragedy.