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Investigation Underway After 3 Construction Workers Hurt In South Boston Floor Collapse

BOSTON (CBS) – An investigation is underway after a collapse at the former Edison Power Plant in South Boston injured three construction workers, including one who was trapped for hours beneath the rubble.

A cantilevered floor collapsed Wednesday at the building on Summer Street.

Two workers were immediately removed from the building and transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. A third worker's lower legs were trapped under a large piece of the floor for more than three hours.

The Suffolk District Attorney's office said Thursday it has not found any immediate evidence of "overt criminality" or "deliberate attempts at destruction."

Collapse South Boston
A worker was trapped under a floor that collapsed in South Boston (Image credit Boston EMS)

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has opened inspections with Suffolk Construction, Northstar Contracting Group, Inc. and TRC Companies, the three employers at the site.

Inspectors for OSHA are working to determine if the construction companies complied with applicable workplace safety standards.

The OSHA investigation will be completed within six months.

Demolition at the old power plant is part of a massive 15-acre redevelopment project. The accident comes just weeks after a fatal demolition mishap at a downtown parking garage.

Gov. Charlie Baker was asked about recent construction accidents Thursday.

"There's always appropriately investigations afterward to see what can be done to make sure whatever the particular circumstances there don't happen again. Two of the three are under investigation and I, like many others, am waiting for the results because that's going to be what tells us what we need to do to prevent it in the future," he told reporters.

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