Local News

Investigation underway after worker dies at East Boston construction site

"I was working on the fifth floor and suddenly I heard like a noise, a very loud noise."

Authoriites are investigating after a man died at an East Boston construction site. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff

October 7, 2021

1 minute to read

A man working at an East Boston construction site died Wednesday morning, and authorities are now investigating.

“The death of an unnamed construction worker in East Boston is a tragic reminder of how dangerous the construction industry can be and that employers must take every precaution to protect workers from numerous hazards on the job, especially falls,” the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety & Health wrote in a statement.

Boston police reported they received a call to the construction site at 187 Sumner Street shortly before 11:30 a.m. When police arrived, the worker was already dead.

While police have not identified the victim, construction workers described him as a Brazilian man in his 30s, NBC10 reported.

“I was working on the fifth floor and suddenly I heard like a noise, a very loud noise,” construction worker William DeSosa told reporters from NBC10.

“I don’t have the words to explain the way I feel right now, I’m really shocked and angry,” Sandra Nijjar from East Boston Community Soup Kitchen told NBC 10.

According to the Boston Planning and Development Agency’s website, the project is slated to be a seven-story building with 42-units of low income elderly housing.

Police and occupational safety officials are investigating.