Police have opened a criminal investigation following the collapse of a retaining wall at a construction site that occurred on Tuesday morning in Blainville, Que.
One worker was killed and was trapped under the rubble for several hours in the construction pit before his body was recovered late Tuesday night.
Police identified him as 31-year-old Alexandre Paris.
CSN construction union workplace safety representative Pierre Olivier Parent told CTV News that there was an inspection of the soil at the Blainville site 30 minutes before the collapse.
“It showed there was something wrong with that retention wall,” Parent said.
The CSN representative at the site and the foreman were all aware that the test result was not good, he said.
Paris’s employer, Preco-MSE, said he worked as a specialized labourer for the company, which was acting as a subcontractor on the construction site.
“The entire team at Preco-MSE wishes to extend its sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of the worker involved,” the company said in a statement.
“The firm has put psychological support measures in place for employees affected by the situation. At this point, it is too early to say what caused the accident.”
Three other people were injured, including two who were sent to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Sara Tousignant, a spokesperson with Blainville police, confirmed to CTV News on Wednesday that an investigation has been opened for criminal negligence causing death.
She said it’s too early to draw any conclusions about the alleged negligence.
The site is on Michèle-Bohec Boulevard in Blainville, on Montreal’s North Shore, and is the future Liria project, which would include residential units and a hotel.
‘We are in shock’
General contractor Syscomax, which the builder of the construction project, confirmed to CTV News that the company is stopping work at all of its construction sites on Wednesday, as workers are still reeling from the tragedy.
“Our main focus is just to support all the staff, employees,” including providing psychological support, said Jean-Philip Robitaille, president of Syscomax Immobilier, when reached by phone. “We are in shock.”
The company, based in Mirabel, Que., is facing questions from police and Quebec’s workplace safety board, the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité au travail (CNESST), which is also investigating the incident.
“We are getting questions from the authorities, the police, the CNESST ... and we are offering our full collaboration to those entities,” Robitaille said.
On Wednesday, several officials were at the scene of the tragedy, including the chief of police and the head of the fire department, who met with members of Syscomax.
Part of Michèle-Bohec Boulevard remains closed.
Officials are checking the stability of the street that runs alongside the worksite before it is opened to traffic.
‘Complex soil conditions’
The construction company describes Phase 1 of Place Liria Blainville as a mixed-use, 15-storey living space covering more than one million square feet with three levels of underground parking.
The company’s website notes there are “several challenges” with the project, including “excavating the three-storey underground parking lot in complex soil conditions.”
The project description goes on to say that, “As with all its projects, Syscomax will ensure that everything runs smoothly and on schedule while its team rigorously follows its proven procedures to ensure a safe worksite for everyone involved in this exciting mandate.”
The high-rise, bordering Highway 15, is slated to house 137 rental apartments, including 12 penthouses and five townhouses.
The Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) union, which represents some construction workers in Quebec, said Tuesday it wondered whether all of the proper checks were done at the construction site, given the heavy rain the region received over the weekend.
“The nature of the soil there can have a huge impact on the strength that’s deployed and pressed on the retaining wall when the soil gets drenched with water,” Pierre-Olivier Parent, a CSN workplace safety representative, told CTV News on Tuesday.
In a post on X on Tuesday, Quebec Labour Minister Jean Boulet offered his condolences to the family of the worker who died.
“My sympathies go out to his family and colleagues, and my thoughts are also with the injured workers,” he wrote.
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With files from CTV News Montreal’s Matt Gilmour and Max Harrold
