7 floors partially collapse at Boston construction site
2 construction workers injured
Two workers were hurt when seven floors of a building under construction at 45 Stuart St. collapsed Thursday morning.
“We couldn’t see anything,” Scott Snow said. “We just heard a loud rumble and we got out.”
The injuries were described as "not life-threatening" by Boston EMS.
“The flooring came down on him, that’s all I know,” James Parson said.
Co-workers said Bobby Donavon, an employee with Triple G Scaffold in Norwell was the most badly injured.
“Bobby has a broken leg in a couple places, and a cut to the head,” Parson said.
The Pembroke father in his mid-40s suffered serious injuries but will survive, along with the second employee that suffered a back injury.
The building, which is planned to be a 33-story residential structure, suffered a partial collapse from floors 11 down to floor 5, the Boston Fire Department said.
Deputy Fire Chief Robert Calobrisi said the collapse was caused by a "dead load" that caused the floors to "pancake."
"(It was) just going like a roller coaster at the top, going straight down," said Calobrisi.
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The 398-unit apartment building is a project of AvalonBay Communities.
"I think they were putting something heavy on the roof, and it caused the roof to give in a little, and unfortunately two workers were under that," said Boston Police Commissioner William Evans.
Other construction workers were evacuated from the building in the city's Chinatown neighborhood.
Representatives from OSHA were investigating the collapse.
"Everyone's shaken up," said Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, a former union laborer. "You know, it could be anybody. Construction is a dangerous, dangerous job."