1 dead after retaining wall collapses at construction site in Blainville, Que.
One person died when the walls of a construction site in Blainville, Que., collapsed on Tuesday, sending parked cars and other material falling into a pit.
Images from the scene showed that one of the walls of a construction pit, where workers had been building the foundation for a new commercial and residential development on Michèle-Bohec Boulevard, collapsed inward around 11 a.m.
Multiple vehicles that had been parked near the lip of the pit fell into it as the wall collapsed.
Emergency services, including firefighters and multiple ambulances, rushed to the scene.
Blainville police told Radio-Canada that in addition to the death, three people had been injured. One of them was treated on site, another was transported to the hospital with a leg injury and one person who had to be rescued from the pit was also transported to the hospital to be treated for shock.
It was not immediately clear if there were more injuries.
Quebec's workplace safety board, the CNESST, has opened an investigation into the collapse.
General contractor Syscomax was co-ordinating the work on the development, which is called Liria. According to Syscomax's website, Liria is to feature residential buildings, commercial space and a hotel.
But the website also notes that the work involves "several challenges, such as excavating the 3-storey underground parking lot in complex soil conditions."
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