Construction Worker Dies in Fall Down Shaft at Queens Site: Police

A worker died after falling about 20 feet down a shaft at a Queens construction site, officials said.

FDNY officials said units responded to a building on St. Nicholas Avenue near Myrtle Avenue in Ridgewood around 3 p.m. after getting word a person had fallen down a large hole.

The man, who was working at the construction site, was taken to Wyckoff Hospital where he was initially listed in critical condition, according to police and fire officials. He later died from his injuries, according to police.

Inspectors with the Department of Buildings were at the scene after the fall, and found that the worker was on the ground floor moving a plywood board, when he slipped and fell about 20 feet down a hole into the basement below.

Several members of the construction crew said that the worker was in his mid- to late-30s, and had a wife and children.

The building under construction is slated to be 17 stories tall, making it one of the tallest in the area. Wednesday's deadly incident is the second workplace accident at the site, following a February violation for failing to report a previous injury, when a fence gate one the site fell and hit a worker.

An investigation by the DOB inspectors is ongoing.