The young Italo-Australian was killed just days after celebrating his 18th birthday, after scaffolding, 15 to 17 metres in height, collapsed on him and a co-worker at a construction site in Macquarie Park.
“I am just so saddened about the death of young scaffolding apprentice Christopher Cassaniti,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison tweeted on Tuesday morning.
“To his parents and workmates my heart goes out to you.”
Opposition leader Bill Shorten also sent his condolences and described Mr Cassaniti’s death as shocking.
“As a father of three, it is incomprehensible what his family must be going through at this time - and I think I speak for everyone when I say they are in our thoughts,” Shorten tweeted.
Paramedics who arrived on the scene were initially unable to reach the form worker, who was trapped under metal and rubble.
He was pronounced dead on-site a few hours later.
A 39-year-old co-worker with lower body injuries was freed by Fire and Rescue NSW workers and taken in a critical condition to Royal North Shore Hospital.
The catastrophic accident occurred at the site of the Lachlan’s Line apartment complex.
It’s the fifth workplace death on an Australian construction site this year.
A spokesperson from the CFMEU construction union said angrily “such tragedy should not occur”.
“We will update members as more is known,” they added.
SafeWork NSW said it was unsure what caused the collapse and expected its investigation to take some time.
The NSW workplace safety watchdog had previously flagged “widespread non-compliance” to scaffolding guidelines as an existing issue in November 2017.
But young workers yesterday told ABC Hack that they were regularly told to do things which broke safety guidelines.
They said that the risk of losing their job was a major reason why unsafe practices went unreported.
Cassaniti’s family have since said in a statement that they are devastated by their loss.
“Christopher was a gentle, kind and hardworking young man full of life and love for his family,” the statement said.
“He was adored by everyone who was lucky enough to meet him.
“While nothing can bring our son back, we don't want his death to be just another statistic.
“No other family should have to go through this horrendous pain.
“We ask that the government step in and take immediate action and implement stringent measures regarding safety on construction sites.
“Crucial safety checks and procedures need to be at the front and centre of every construction site.
“We await the outcome of the investigation as to what went wrong.”
A spokesperson from construction company Ganellen said it was arranging support for workers on site at the time of the collapse.
NSW Police are also investigating the man’s death.
