Worker dies in accident at downtown Montreal construction site

A man has died in a workplace accident in downtown Montreal on Wednesday.

The man had been working on a building under construction at the corner of Cathcart and Square-Phillips streets at the heart of the city's commercial district.

Several Montreal police officers were on site Wednesday afternoon as onlookers and other workers gathered in the area.

The construction firm Magil Construction released a statement shortly after 1:30 p.m., saying it was collaborating with Quebec's workplace health and safety board, the CNESST.

"A tragic accident occurred today, resulting in the death of a subcontractor employee working with our company," the statement read.

A fatal workplace accident took place in Montreal's commercial district Wednesday. (Simon-Marc Charron/Radio-Canada)

"The site has been evacuated, and we remind all our workers that psychological support is available to them. Most importantly, we wish to extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the deceased employee."

Quebec Labour Minister Jean Boulet, who happened to be at a meeting with the board of directors of the CNESST nearby, spoke to reporters at the site.

Quebec Labour Minister Jean Boulet was in a meeting about accident prevention not far from where a construction worker was killed Wednesday in downtown Montreal. (Radio-Canada)

"I learned with enormous sadness the death of a worker in his mid-20s, and I want to offer my condolences to his colleagues, his loved ones and his family," Boulet said in a live television interview.

Boulet said he was meeting with the CNESST about the prevention of workplace accidents.

He said the board's investigators will be determining the exact circumstances leading to the man's death, as well as what could have been done to prevent it.