It’s been reported that a crew member working on the upcoming Resident Evil: The Final Chapter was killed on set just days before the film was due to wrap.
34-year-old Ricardo Corenlius was working on set during a prep day when he sustained serious injuries, leading to his death.
As reported by Entertainment Weekly, the accident happened on December 3 – a few days before the film wrapped on December 9 – while Mr Corenlius was carrying out safety checks at the Cape Town set in South Africa.
German production company Constantin Films issued a statement on the sad incident:
We are all deeply shocked and saddened by this tragic accident, which was out of anyone’s control. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.
According to eye-witnesses, Ricardo was helping secure a Hummer to a turntable when he slipped and became trapped between the vehicle and a wall. The accident did not happen during filming and an investigation is said to be ongoing.
His wife, Shafiefa Cornelius, spoke to South African website IOL:
The doctors said his lungs were completely flat and he was bleeding a lot. He was unconscious and he was already on life support. I held his hand and I told him not to leave us because we need him and he is a strong man.
This isn’t the first time tragedy has struck on the Resident Evil set – earlier this year Milla Jovovich’s stuntwoman, Olivia Jackson, suffered horrendous injuries that left her arm paralysed and in need of amputation after a motorcycle crash
Our thoughts go out to Ricardo’s family and friends at this awful time.
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter is set to release in January 2017.
Mark is the Gaming Editor for UNILAD. Having grown up a gaming addict, he’s been deeply entrenched in culture and spends time away from work playing as much as possible. Mark studied music at University and found a love for journalism through going to local gigs and writing about them for local and national publications.