Family and friends of the Fall River man who died after falling at an Edgartown construction site last week remembered him as a hard worker who had recently moved to the U.S.

Jorge Marcelo Yanza Riera arrived in the states about two years ago from Ecuador with plans to support his family back home, according to his brother Angel Yanza Riera. 

“Jorge lived in Fall River and arrived in this country a little over two years ago in the hope of building a better future and supporting our parents, nephews and our entire family in Ecuador,” Angel Yanza Riera wrote in a message on a gofundme page. “Jorge was a young man full of life, hardworking, always with a smile and ready to reach out to anyone who needed it.” 

Mr. Riera was working at a residential construction site on Trapps Pond Road on Tuesday when he fell between 20 and 30 feet from scaffolding onto a basement egress area, investigators said. He was brought to the hospital and later pronounced dead. 

The Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office said the incident is considered a construction-related accident. Police said that the Occupational Safety Health Administration (OSHA) is investigating Mr. Riera’s death. 

An OSHA spokesperson confirmed Monday that an initial inspection has taken place but declined to comment further while the investigation is ongoing.

The home is owned by Christopher Soverns, a contractor from Connecticut who was building a home on the property and adjacent lots along Trapps Pond Road.

Mr. Soverns said Mr. Riera worked for Bear 777 Construction, a Fall River-based business working at the property, and that company was getting in touch with Mr. Riera’s family.

In a statement last week, Mr. Soverns said he and his business partner Joseph Pastore were saddened by the death of Mr. Riera. 

“We want to offer our thoughts and prayers to his family and friends in this very difficult time,” he wrote.

Briana Lazo, a friend of Mr. Riera who lives in Fall River, was helping to raise money to repatriate his body back to South America so Mr. Riera’s family could say a final goodbye.

She said his friends and relatives were heartbroken.  

“He was like family to us when he first came to the U.S. alone,” she told the Gazette. “Now my families and I are so devastated for his loss and we, including his brother Angel, are doing everything possible to bring back his body to Ecuador.”