1 killed in Boston parking garage collapse
A construction worker was killed while working on the demolition of the Government Center Parking Garage in Boston on Saturday, officials said. The worker appeared to be in a small crane when he suffered a “substantial fall,” Boston Fire Commissioner Jack Dempsey said Saturday night.
The parking garage, which is being prepared for demolition, suffered a partial collapse during the incident. The cause of the collapse and the fall have not yet been determined, officials said.
Boston Police Captain Kelley McCormick said that the crane fell “approximately eight to nine stories.” The identity of the worker who was killed has not yet been released. McCormick clarified that the crane that fell was a “smaller” worker crane and not one of the large yellow cranes that could still be seen standing Saturday night.
Dempsey said that he believes the rest of the building is stable, but he is waiting for a structural engineer to make an assessment.
“Any building being demolished is a dangerous scene,” Dempsey said. “Probably more dangerous than when they’re putting them up.”
The area around the parking garage has been shut down, including the underground train station and the nearby on and off ramps to Interstate 93. McCormick said the area will most likely remain closed to traffic for several hours, causing a “serious traffic disruption.” McCormick said structural engineers are also working to determine if the collapse caused any structural damage to the underground train line.
A passerby who witnessed the collapse was also taken to the hospital, although they appeared to be uninjured, an EMS officials said.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu called the incident a “horrible tragedy,” adding that the city will do “whatever it takes so that we understand what happened here.”
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