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Transformer explosion next to State House injures 2 Eversource workers
Both workers were brought to MGH, one with serious injuries.
A transformer explosion occurred Tuesday evening near the Massachusetts State House. Two Eversource workers were injured, according to The Boston Fire Department, and they were brought to Massachusetts General Hospital.
The incident happened across from 37 Bowdoin St., where the Italian restaurant Grotto is located.
One of the workers had serious injuries, WCVB reported.
The explosion happened while the two workers performed regular maintenance on a transformer, WHDH reported.
“It was a transformer that they were doing routine work on, it was not a manhole explosion,” Boston Fire Commissioner Paul Burke told the station.
In a video posted to Twitter by State House News Service, a large plume of smoke can be seen billowing from an underground area. Loud noises reportedly preceded the smoke.
Witnesses told WCVB that they heard as many as twelve loud booming noises. One said that they heard sounds resembling a loud jackhammer, and another said that they saw an Eversource worker with burns and charred clothing.
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“I heard a guy screaming and this really big plume of brown smoke came up out of what looked like a square manhole,” one witness told WCVB.
In a statement on Twitter, Eversource said that the incident occurred while two employees were working on underground equipment. The company is continuing to investigate.
Boston fire officials said that the air quality was monitored in the surrounding buildings, and determined to be safe.
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