Seven people taken to hospital after apparent explosion at under construction building

Courtney Heels is on the scene after a natural gas explosion injured at least seven people at a North York construction site.

Seven people were taken to hospital, four of them with critical injuries, after an apparent explosion at an under construction building in North York on Tuesday morning.

Crews were first dispatched to the building on Esther Shiner Boulevard at McMahon Drive, which is in the vicinity of Leslie Street and Sheppard Avenue, at around 9:20 a.m.

“It was reported that there was a gas explosion and we had patients exhibiting signs of burns but there was no fire upon Toronto Fire Services arrival,” Division Commander Paul O’Brien told reporters at the scene.

Toronto Fire Services told CTV News that the reported blast occurred in the penthouse mechanical room on the 22nd floor of the building.

Four people were taken to hospital with “critical” injuries, while another three were transported with minor injuries, officials said.

All of the injured parties were workers.

Jason Dorrington, a handyman, “wasn’t surprised,” adding that “We are higher risk (than) the fire, than the police, construction is a risky job.”

More than a dozen vehicles were dispatched to the scene by Toronto Fire Services.

“I would say that we do not attend a lot of calls like this of this serious nature in construction sites. I cannot recall in the last couple of years something to this nature,” O’Brien told reporters.

O‘Brien added that at this point the investigation is just in its “initial stages” and it remains unclear what might have caused the blast.

The building was evacuated following the fire. Esther Shiner Boulevard’s westbound lane is currently closed at Provost Drive.

The Ministry of Labour has also been notified and will be conducting its own investigation alongside the Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal.