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1 dead, 4 injured when home under construction collapses

WCVB

By David Bienick, John Atwater

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    WEYMOUTH, Massachusetts (WCVB) — A construction worker has died and four others were injured Tuesday when a home under construction collapsed in Weymouth, Massachusetts.

Mario Diaz Obando, 29, of Fall River, Massachusetts, died at South Shore Hospital after he was critically injured in the collapse, Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey confirmed Tuesday evening.

The collapse happened just before noon on Vine Street. Video from the scene showed the framing of the single-family home scattered on the ground with the roof on top.

“Mr. Diaz Obando was one of five workers injured when the house collapsed. Four other workers suffered minor injuries and were transported to the hospital as well,” said Weymouth Police Chief Richard Fuller.

Witnesses described a tornado-like gust of wind just before hearing the two-story structure crash down. Part of the building landed on the street.

One witness said she saw a worker standing on the roof when the building collapsed.

“It just went down very fast and very loud,” said neighbor Kelly Keating. “It sounded like, honestly, it sounded like they always come here and empty a dumpster.”

To reach one of the workers, firefighters had to use jacks to hold up the building and power tools to tunnel their way inside the rubble. After about 25 minutes, they brought that worker out on a stretcher and loaded him into an ambulance.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) officials have been called to the scene.

The cause of the collapse is under investigation by OSHA, the Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents, the Weymouth Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police.

Earlier Tuesday, a scaffolding collapsed at a building under construction in nearby Quincy, which sent workers scrambling to safety.

The collapse, which is being blamed on high winds, happened at the corner of Washington and Edison streets.

From Sky5, a white work van parked on the side of the street had scaffolding on top of it, and the sidewalk was completely blocked.

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