Tonight, the Seward Park Cooperative is out with more details about the accident on Clinton Street late this afternoon. At about 4 p.m., a construction worker became buried after a wall caved in. It took emergency crews about an hour to get him out. He was rushed to Bellevue Hospital in critical but stable condition and is expected to be okay.
Frank Durant, the co-op’s general manager, says the worker was part of a team from Onsite Contracting Inc. that was making “emergency repairs to excavate a standpipe line.” As soon as the wall collapsed and the worker became buried in mud and gravel, Durant, says, members of the cooperative’s “staff acted quickly to dig him out, clear his airway and ensure his breathing” until fire department rescue squads arrived.
He explained that the repairs were essential because the standpipe line is used by the fire department in the event of a fire. Durant added that the contractor is fully licensed and insured and that the firm had done work for the co-op in the past. This type of excavation can be dangerous. But at the same time, he said, every precaution is taken to ensure worker safety.
“There is a barrier around the excavation,” he said, “and 24 hour guard to prevent anyone from entering the area.”
