Construction worker killed, 2 more injured in accident on MIT property

A 41-year-old construction worker from Taunton was fatally injured and two others were hurt while on the job at an MIT residence hall project in Cambridge on Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

First responders received a report of a construction accident about 3 p.m., according to a statement from the Middlesex District Attorney’s office. Building materials from the third floor of the structure at 120 Vassar St. had fallen and hit the workers on the second floor, Cambridge police spokesman Jeremy Warnick said.

Anthony Costa Jr., a labor foreman, was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he later died, according to his employer, the Boston construction firm Walsh Brothers Inc. Two other workers were hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries, the district attorney’s office said.

The death is not considered suspicious, according to the statement.

MIT police, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and State Police assigned to the Middlesex district attorney’s office are investigating the case, the office said.

The case has been referred to the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to determine the cause of death, according to the district attorney.

Walsh Brothers mourned the loss of its employee Thursday.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our valued employee and we will do all that we can to support his family at this time, including respecting their privacy,” Walsh Brothers said in a statement.

The company is “doing everything it can” to investigate the incident and to assist federal and local authorities, Walsh Brothers said.

Israel Ruiz, MIT’s executive vice president and treasurer, offered his condolences in a statement Thursday night.

“I am deeply saddened to learn about the accident and the passing of a person who was working on the construction site on our campus. The thoughts of the MIT community are with the family and other loved ones close to him at this difficult time,” Ruiz said. “We are also very concerned about the others injured and are hoping for their full recovery.”