At least 3 hurt in collapse at old South Boston power plant

Multiple people were reportedly trapped after a collapse at an old South Boston power plant, police said.

Three victims have been taken to a hospital, Boston EMS tweeted. Two were transported around 3 p.m., and it took emergency crews another three hours to extricate the third victim without amputation. That person was then taken to a hospital.

A room collapsed at the Edison Power Plant at 776 Summer St., police told WCVB. The Associated Press reported that the collapse happened around 1:45 p.m., and that police told the news organization that at least one person’s injuries were considered life-threatening.

The Edison Power Plant, also called the L Street Power Plant, was sold to Redgate/Hilco and was closed at the time of the collapse.

The development plan, according to documents from 2017, indicates that the area is slated to be turned into a mixed-use development with residential and commercial space, retail, and potentially some art space.

The Boston Globe reported that the worker who suffered the worst injuries was working on the first floor when a 30-foot section of concrete fell from the second floor, pinning his legs under it.

The newspaper wrote that firefighters cut a hole in the concrete to free the man, working carefully to ensure they did not cause any further collapse.

A surgeon was also called to treat the man on scene because his injuries were considered life-threatening, The Globe reported.

According to Eli Rosenberg of NBC10 Boston, the building was under demolition when it collapsed.

The Globe reported that Mayor Wu, Boston City Council President Ed Flynn, and Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden went to the scene Wednesday.

Mayor Wu issued a statement about the incident on Twitter Wednesday evening.

“Our hearts are with the workers & families impacted by today’s building collapse in South Boston,” she wrote. “I’m grateful to our responders who were on scene immediately & worked diligently for hours on this rescue operation. This is an ongoing investigation.”

The Associated Press reported that OSHA was also on scene.

This is the second collapse at a Boston construction site this year. A construction named Peter Monsini worker died in March when a parking garage that was being demolished collapsed, which prompted investigations by multiple agencies.

The Globe reported that at a press conference Wednesday, Mayor Wu said she was angry that such a similar accident to that which killed Monsini had happened yet again and in a short timeframe.

“Every worker, every family member of workers across our city need to know that it cannot be a question whether your family will come home at night, whether they will be safe on the job,” she said.

Suffolk Construction, which was managing the demolition, released a statement to the Globe Wednesday:

“Our thoughts are with the individuals who were injured, along with their families. We are currently on site working closely with OSHA, our subcontractor and the local authorities to determine the cause of this incident and confirm the safety of the site.”

The Globe reported that the construction site will shut down work for a time while OSHA investigates what happened.

The newspaper reported that OSHA has done 13 inspections at Suffolk job sites in the last five years, but none were at 776 Summer St. Of those inspections, 11 have been completed and have resulted in zero citations, and two are still open.