Body of worker killed in Government Center garage collapse recovered

The body of a man killed after he fell from the Government Center garage Saturday afternoon was recovered later that night, according to officials.

Boston Fire Commissioner Jack Dempsey said the unidentified man’s remains were removed from the scene of the accident around 9:15 p.m.

The 35-year-old apparently fell 9-stories to the ground shortly after 5:30 p.m. Saturday, while working to demolish the decking of the garage. Boston Fire Commissioner Jack Dempsey told reporters at the scene the victim was operating a bobcat with a jackhammer attachment when the structure underneath him collapsed.

Dempsey said the victim was immediately declared deceased by emergency medical personnel but that responders could not safely reach his remains until hours later.

On Sunday work was being done to examine the structure but Dempsey said demolition work will pause until after agents of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, and workers from the city’s Inspectional Services Department declare the scene safe.

“There is always a possibility of further collapse given the building is being demolished. Any further removal of the building will be done with a higher level of safety. OSHA inspectors are on scene and all safety measures will be reviewed before further work continues. Future work will not commence till the investigation is completed by OSHA,” he said via email.

OSHA teams were on the scene Sunday morning, inspecting the building from the ground and using a drone. Congress Street, which runs adjacent to the incident, remained closed as of noon.

The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said no foul play is apparent but that they would participate in any investigation into the man’s death.

“Our office, along with numerous local, state and federal agencies will be involved in investigating this tragedy,” the office said in a written statement.

“Our office is a stone’s throw away from the garage and our staff has watched through their office windows all the work being done these many months. To know that one of the workers on this project has tragically died weighs heavy on our hearts. Our deepest sympathies go out to his family and friends.”

John Moriarty and Associates, the general contractor managing the project, confirmed in a statement an accident occurred at its jobsite Saturday evening and that a man had died.

The man was a member of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 4. Following the incident, William McLaughlin, Local 4 Business Manager, met with workers at the site and released a statement saying the union would work with investigators.

“The leadership and members of IUOE Local 4 are supporting the investigation and all efforts to understand what happened here,” he said.

Train service on the Orange Line, which runs under the construction site, was replaced with Bus Service between North Station and the Back Bay for the weekend in advance of the demolition project. Those buses were themselves rerouted around Haymarket Station to avoid roads closed by the accident, according to the MBTA.

The brutalist-style Government Center garage was built in 1972 as part of Boston’s urban renewal plan. Its demolition is part of a $1.4 billion redevelopment project which will see a 2.9-million-square-foot area around Haymarket Square built for mixed use and renamed Bulfinch Crossing.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/ePldmi6