John Cousins, 60, died after an incident at the site just after noon on Thursday.

It is understood that the worker died after he was hit by the boom of a spider crane he was directing on the deck attached to the bridge’s north tower.

Work is usually carried out on the bridge 24 hours a day and seven days a week by different shifts, but the site was shut down the following day with all non-essential work halted until yesterday.

Part of the north tower remains closed as an investigation by Police Scotland and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) continues.

Staff paused for silent reflection at a series of meetings held yesterday morning as they began their first shift since the tragedy.

A spokesperson for the project confirmed: “Staff returned to work on the Forth Replacement Crossing this morning.

“As part of this, team meetings have been held across the project as a mark of respect to our colleague who died last week.”

Mr Cousin’s death was the first since construction of the £1.4 billionn Forth crossing began in 2011.

He was taken by boat to the Hawes Pier at South Queensferry, where he was transferred onto an ambulance and taken to hospital but he had suffered severe blood loss and could not be resuscitated.

A second man was involved in the accident and was also rushed to hospital, however his injuries were not thought to be life-threatening.

The crossing is being built by the Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors consortium, with 1,200 people currently working on site.

More than 10,000 workers have been involved at various stages of the construction process.

The bridge is due for completion in December.