1 dead, 3 injured after retaining wall collapse at Blainville construction site
Posted May 20, 2025 1:23 pm.
Last Updated May 21, 2025 9:17 am.
The retaining wall of a construction site in Blainville, on Montreal’s North Shore, seemingly collapsed late Tuesday morning – leaving at least one dead and injuring three other workers.
The site is on Michèle-Bohec Blvd., between Notre-Dame and Émilien-Marcoux Street, where a commercial-residential complex is currently under construction, as they worked on a two-story underground parking garage that was dug 60 to 70 feet into the ground.
“It’s a commercial complex that’s under construction, but they were putting up the underground retaining walls. So, we’re talking about the north wall and the northeast wall that collapsed on the workers at that time,” explained Lieutenant Sara Tousignant, a spokesperson for the Blainville police.
Some 20 workers were onsite at the time of the collapse, but the deceased was the only person missing, police said.
“We know that there is a body in the clay, we know where he is,” said Claude Deschuymer director of Blainville Fire Department. “But unfortunately, where the body is positioned, it’s right on the edge of the wall that collapsed. And the other part of the wall, there are constant landslides, and then you hear cracking all the time. If I bring my response team there, there is a risk to the lives of my staff. For the moment, we can’t do anything. We are looking for an engineering advisor who will come and give us his instructions on the stability of the wall or what we can do to stabilize the wall so that we can go and recover the body.”
The body of the worker who was killed was recovered shortly after 8 p.m. and identified as a 31-year-old. The exact cause of their death is still unknown.
“We presume that he died on impact because it is very heavy and compact,” said Deschuymer.
According to authorities, one worker sustained a leg injuries and was brought to hospital, while another was treated onsite for a minor injury.
A third worker was inside a construction trailer at the time of the collapse, which reportedly “fell into the hole” created when the retaining walls gave way. She was eventually rescued and lifted to safety – then transported to hospital to be treated for nervous shock.
“There were several employees who were there, many were lucky to exit without any problems,” said Deschuymer.
Three vehicles belonging to workers there were also swallowed by the gaping pit where the building’s foundation was to be poured.
During the lunch hour, emergency responders were actively working to secure the site and assess the structural stability of the surrounding area.
Blainville’s fire department director says the soil there is clay-like and heavy rain over the weekend may have contributed to the collapse.
“Events like this are not frequent,” said Deschuymer.
The City of Blainville issued a statement via social media referring to the incident as a “major event” and has closed Michèle-Bohec Boulevard to traffic between Notre-Dame Street and Émilien-Marcoux Street until further notice.
The building in question was intended for commercial use and was to be integrated into a complex of several other businesses on Boulevard Michèle-Bohec, a portion of which was closed to traffic.
Blainville firefighters, assisted by their colleagues from Boisbriand, and around 15 police officers were deployed to rescue the 20 or so workers on site and manage traffic.
Labour Minister Jean Boulet quickly released a statement on the X platform: “It is with sadness that I learned of the death of a worker in the collapse of a structure in Blainville. I offer my sympathies to the loved ones and colleagues, and my thoughts are also with the injured workers. The CNESST (Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail) and the RBQ (Régie du bâtiment du Québec) will investigate to get to the bottom of this.”
Officials have yet to determine the cause of the collapse, and an investigation is expected to follow once the rescue operation concludes – including one by the province’s worker’s safety board, the CNESST, as well as by the RBQ — the Régie du bâtiment du Québec.
—With files from The Canadian Press
