Fatal accident in L'Île-des-Soeurs

What happened was a construction worker was trying to take down a gigantic crane and in doing so, sustained fatal injuries after he was struck by a heavy piece of metal in the area he was working in. Police officers and various emergency services arrived promptly on-site but because the accident happened at a distance of a hundred meters away above ground, rescuers had to take precautionary measures to extract the victim from the trap. Based on initial reports, the man appeared to have died instantly from the impact.

The worker was wearing his security harness no doubt, and was trapped at the building’s summit for a long period of time. The death was confirmed when the victim was brought down to ground level.

Other workers on the construction site abandoned their work, too emotional to continue with their regular tasks. Most of them however remained on-site to observe rescue operations.

The victim was an employee of a company that specialises in the mounting and de-mounting of huge cranes. According to initial observations, the site complied with requirements of the Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CSST) that inspects construction sites regularly. This organisation will study all the circumstances of the accident before submitting its report. A coroner’s report will also be provided as to the exact cause of death.

Le Vistal is one of two condominium towers that the Proment Corporation is building at the moment in this part of the island. Engineer Louis-Joseph Papineau, Vice President of the company, was contacted a few hours after the incident, and he expressed his immense sadness as well as that of the entire Proment team. He sent his sympathies to the victim’s family and to all of the victim’s co-workers.