new haven

Two remain hospitalized after partial building collapse in Conn. Friday

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Six of the eight construction workers who were hospitalized after a building they were working on in New Haven partially collapsed Friday afternoon have been released from the hospital.

The two people who remain hospitalized are in fair condition, according to officials.

New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said one of the people who is still in the hospital is in the intensive care unit and the other is stable and recovering.

"Obviously, we are very much praying for the individual ho is intensive care and his full recovery," Elicker said.

RMS Companies owns the 112,000-square-foot building on Lafayette Street where the collapse happened shortly after 12:30 p.m. Friday.

Work was underway on a 112-unit luxury building.

Part of the second floor collapsed onto the first floor and into the basement as crews were pouring concrete.

Elicker said 36 people were working at the building site when the collapse happened.

New Haven Fire Chief John Alston Jr. said firefighters found people whose injuries ranged from broken bones to people who were buried under the rubble.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the collapse.

Elicker said they have been working to support OSHA in their investigation and it will take time to determine what happened.

As of Saturday, one of the four people who remained hospitalized was listed in serious condition.

The building, which will be seven stories and include 112 residential units, is on land owned by Yale University, a few blocks from Yale New Haven Hospital and the Yale School of Medicine. The property is being developed by RMS Companies, based in Stamford, Connecticut

On Saturday, RMS Companies released a statement, saying:

"First and foremost, the safety of our construction teams is our top priority.  Our thoughts are focused on a full recovery for those who were injured and we greatly appreciate the heroic work of the first responders. We will continue to work with our safety team and all of the appropriate government agencies to fully investigate the incident."

Elicker said a stop-work order was issued Friday and residents are asked to stay away from the scene.

Elicker said the city has an inspection process and when there are larger concrete pours and larger projects, the city will require a third-party inspector as well and ensure that they inspect the site before the concrete pour is done.

He said the city has started to review its internal processes to make sure its inspections were done correctly.

"Up to now, we have identified that everything that we were responsible for on our end was done appropriately, but we'll continue to look at that just to make sure," Elicker said. "And OSHA will be reviewing the site at Lafayette Street to see exactly what happened because we want to make sure this never happens again."

NBC Connecticut and Associated Press
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