Seven people were sent to hospital after an explosion at a highrise construction site in Toronto Tuesday morning, police say.
Fire crews responded to a call at around 9:15 a.m. about a gas explosion in a building under construction near Esther Shiner Boulevard and Provost Drive, said Toronto Fire division commander Paul O’Brien at a news conference.
But upon arrival, crews did not find a fire and instead found several patients with signs of burns, O’Brien said.
O’Brien said the incident took place in the boiler room at the penthouse level of the building. He said it’s unclear how many workers were on the floor at the time.
Workers inside the building were evacuated immediately, Toronto police said.
Paramedics took seven workers to hospital, three with minor injuries and four with life-threatening injuries, said Toronto Paramedic Services Chief Bikram Chawla.
Chawla said he could not expand on the types of injuries the patients had due to privacy concerns.
Construction workers gathered outside the building following the incident. O’Brien said he wasn’t sure when workers could go back inside due to an ongoing investigation.
Type of explosion not common, Toronto Fire says
Luke Pravica, a construction worker at the site, said he had heard there was a potential gas leak and explosion that burned a few people.
He said the incident is “concerning for sure” and hopes his colleagues have a speedy recovery.
O’Brien said gas explosions like this are uncommon in Toronto, but did not expand on what kind of gas may have caused the explosion.
In a statement, Centerville Construction Corp. said the incident is being investigated and it will share more information when it becomes available.
“Our heart goes out to the construction workers that have been sent to hospital,” said Peter Udzenija with Centerville in an email to CBC Toronto.
O’Brien said an investigation is ongoing and the Ministry of Labour has been notified of the incident.
In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for the ministry said an inspector has been assigned to investigate the explosion.
The spokesperson said no other details would be provided while the investigation is underway.
