Father can only watch as builder is crushed by collapsing floor

The family of a builder crushed to death while working on a basement conversion told today how his father and best friend battled to save him after he was hit by tons of rubble.

Steel worker Anghel Milosavlevici, 37, died when the ground floor collapsed during excavations at a £2 million home in Ellerby Street, Fulham. He was with his father Gheorghe Milosavlevici, 58, and best friend Boby Risipitu, 24.

His sister Cristina Stefanovic said: "Anghel was working in the basement and my father was on the ground floor. My dad saw the ground starting to move and screamed at Anghel to get out. But he wasn't fast enough.

"He couldn't escape. A huge piece of concrete fell on him. My father and Boby went to him but they couldn't lift the concrete. They watched him die."

Ms Stefanovic, 38, a chef who lived with her brother in Walthamstow, criticised the firm responsible for the conversion, Siday Construction, and said: "People must be punished."

She added: "They shouldn't have been in there. Anghel was nearly electrocuted one week before he died. He was scared. In the last few months the company started doing more of these basements. Anghel said he didn't feel safe. The Sunday before he died he promised me he was going to quit and get a new job."

Her brother's body was recovered 24 hours after his death last Thursday, because of fears over the safety of the building.

The home's owners, who moved out while the work takes place, were said to be in "total shock".
It is the latest in a series of accidents involving basement conversions. In October, Chester Row in Belgravia, where homes sell for more than £5 million, was left like a "bombsite" after a skip fell through the road.

Mr Milosavlevici moved from Romania 10 years ago and was planning to marry girlfriend Claudia Dorobantu, 25. Ms Stefanovic said: "They wanted to start a family. I can't describe how awful this is. My father can't sleep or eat."

Hertford-based Siday Construction refused to comment. The Health and Safety Executive is investigating.