A structure at a Boston construction site partially collapsed, injuring at least three people (two of whom were taken to the hospital) and leading to allegations that multiple people are still trapped.
A floor in a building on the waterfront of 776 Summer Street, the address of a shuttered power plant in South Boston that is being redeveloped, fell around 1:45 p.m., according to reports.
The floor’s demolition had been planned at a later, unspecified date.
‘We knew something was going to happen. We knew something was going to happen with the age of the building,’ said Joe Cappuccio, chair of the Friends of South Boston Green Space. ‘I just don’t understand how the engineers can approve this demolition and then, all of a sudden, a floor collapses.
Boston Emergency Medical Services said in a tweet that two people were taken to the hospital and a third person was also being treated on the scene.
‘We have multiple units on scene for the structural collapse at the Edison Power Plant building in South Boston,’ the agency tweeted.
Police said the injuries to one person were considered life-threatening and that it remains unclear how many individuals still remained under the rumble.
The 15-acre site in South Boston is being redeveloped into a mixed-use property that includes residential, office, research and retail space, a hotel, and nearly six acres of new public open space, according to the Boston Planning and Development Agency.
The project is called ‘L Street station’ and is overseen by Hilco Development.
‘This 1.68 million square foot mixed-use development project will bring new energy to the Boston Harbor waterfront, adding jobs and creating new community open space for the South Boston neighborhood,’ Hilco Development’s website reads.
‘The project includes new retail, housing and commercial space using best-in-class environmental sustainability standards and incorporates resilient site design that will create nearly 6 acres of open space throughout the site, including a new 2.5-acre public park along the waterfront.’
According to a spokeswoman for the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the agency will also be on the scene. Michelle Yu, the mayor of Boston, is also expected to attend.
It was the second construction site collapse in Boston this year. In March, a construction worker was killed when a parking garage that was being destroyed fell.
According to construction firm John Moriarty & Associates, a concrete slab on the ninth story failed, causing part of the Government Center garage to collapse.
According to Boston Fire Commissioner Jack Dempsey, a man finishing demolition work in a construction vehicle fell over the edge of the garage when it collapsed, dropping a significant distance.
Authorities discovered the man under a mound of rubble and pronounced him dead on the spot, according to Dempsey.