4 workers sent to hospital
Several workers were injured Thursday morning after an explosion occurred at a manhole worksite in Calgary’s Beltline neighbourhood, according to reports.
Emergency crews responded to Macleod Trail near 14th Avenue S.E. at approximately 7:50 a.m., fire department spokesperson Alex Kwan told CBC. At the time of the explosion, two workers were underground and three others were above ground. The blast was followed by a flash of flames.
“All workers were able to self-evacuate from the area and underground vault,” Kwan said, according to the report.
When emergency crews arrived, there was no active fire at the scene.
Emergency medical services assessed the workers at the scene. Three individuals were transported to Foothills Hospital and one to the Sheldon Chumir Health Centre. All were reported to be in stable, non-life-threatening condition.
“We’re aware of an incident involving four ENMAX crew members,” Jessica Connors, a spokesperson for ENMAX, stated in an email, according to a Yahoo! News report.“At this time, we are still investigating what happened, with our first priority being the safety and well-being of these crew members. There are currently no power impacts in this area.”
A fifth worker declined to be hospitalised following assessment at the scene.
Occupational Health and Safety officials have launched an investigation into the cause of the explosion. Macleod Trail was closed between 14th Avenue S.E. and 17th Avenue S.E. for several hours, but has since reopened.
