A worker was killed late Tuesday morning after he was apparently struck by a piece of rock that had broken free at a construction site at the Woburn Public Library, officials said.
The victim, described by authorities as a man in his 30s, was working alongside the foundation of the building at the time of the incident, a statement from the Middlesex district attorney’s office said.
Authorities have not yet released the victim’s identity.
The victim worked for the Schnabel Foundation, a subcontractor on the library renovation and construction project, according to a statement from another company, W.L. French Excavating Corporation, which had hired Schnabel to perform foundation work for the project.
At the time of the incident, Schnabel employees were working on the underpinning of the library, according to a statement from W.L. French.
The incident occurred just before noon Tuesday.
All construction activities will be halted for the remainder of Tuesday and on Wednesday, and city officials and construction crew leaders will meet Wednesday to discuss safety for the ongoing project, Woburn Mayor Scott Galvin said.
Officials said their thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the worker who died.
The mayor said authorities will be “collecting facts on the incident and try to determine exactly what happened at the excavation site.”
Matthew Consigli, president of Consigli Construction Co., Inc., a contractor on the library project, said it was a very difficult time and there was “a lot of camaraderie among people who have to work close together in a dangerous situation.”
Local officials and inspectors from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating, along with Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan’s office.
The library renovation project is expected to be completed in September 2018.
