Dec. 30--A steel beam collapsed at a Loop construction site Monday, sending three iron workers spilling to the ground and injuring a fourth worker standing nearby, officials said.
The three workers had just connected the beam about 14 to 20 feet above ground when it gave way around 9:05 a.m. at Canal and Lake streets in the West Loop, officials said. A fourth person was injured by falling debris.
Two workers were taken in serious-to-critical condition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, another in serious-to-critical was taken to John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County and the fourth, in fair-to-serious condition, was transported to Rush University Medical Center.
The beam collapsed when two bolts sheared off, according to Scott Allen, a spokesman for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
"It appears that the three employees were performing steel erection while standing on the beam they had just connected and they were using what we call two-bolt connection system," Allen said. "It appears the two bolts sheared off, causing the beam and three employees to fall between 14 and 20 feet."
The workers had required protections in place, Allen said. They were tied to the beam and safety nets were positioned below.
Still, at least one of the workers tumbled from the beam into a hole 10 feet deep and had to be removed in a basket lifted by a crane at the site, according to Assistant Deputy Fire Commissioner Mark Nielsen.
Nielsen said iron workers secured the collapsed steel before firefighters got to the scene.
"That's one of our primary concerns before we put our guys into the area is whether or not it's structurally sound, and it had been secured," he said. "We're gonna shut down the operation for now, at least in this area, until OSHA gets here and they'll make a determination of what went wrong."
