Two persons were being held by police for questioning on Thursday after the death of a worker, who was crushed to death by falling timber at a Paphos construction site.

The two persons, aged 45 and 64, had been arrested and later appeared before a judge at Paphos district court, which ordered them remanded in police custody for two days.

They have not been charged.

The case under investigation is the second of two fatal work accidents within hours on Wednesday afternoon, with the earlier fatality happening in Limassol.

The latest accident victim, named as 34-year-old Aldahdouh Housain from Syria, a permanent resident of Paphos, died in hospital on Wednesday, after being crushed by falling timber from a forklift.

According to police, the incident happened at 4.30pm in the parking lot of the Church of St George. Investigations at the scene determined that the belt holding together a timber load on a raised forklift snapped, causing it to fall onto the 34-year-old construction worker who was passing underneath.

The man was taken to Paphos general hospital where he succumbed to his injuries at 5.52pm.

The scene had been cordoned off and an autopsy is to be carried out on the body of the deceased.

Police had arrested two people, the 64-year-old driver of the forklift and the 45-year-old project contractor.

Elsewhere, authorities are continuing to investigate the death of 43-year-old Giorgios Konstantinou, a plumber and father of two, who died on Wednesday after falling into a lift shaft in Yermasoyia, Limassol.

The man was found dead at the scene at 2.30pm and an investigation was launched into the exact circumstances of the fall.

According to local reports, plywood had been used to cover holes in the lift shaft, raising questions about whether appropriate safety measures had been followed.

Results are awaited from an autopsy and a labour department inspection.

Cyprus has witnessed a dramatic increase in fatal work accidents since 2017, according to a Eurostat report released in April.

In contrast to the decline in non-fatal accidents, Eurostat reported work fatalities to be on an upward trend, increasing threefold between 2017 and 2022, from two to nine incidents.