Authorities have identified the victim killed in a trench collapse while working on a Cape Cod town’s $207 million sewer project for a company that was fined after being cited by OSHA on the same project last year, according to federal records.
Yarmouth officials have confirmed that Miguel Reis, 61, of Fall River, died Tuesday after a trench collapsed at a site in the mid-Cape town operated by Revoli Construction, a company fined $6,950 as part of a settlement following an incident last December, OSHA records show.
“Another man involved in the incident was rescued and is currently receiving care at Rhode Island Hospital,” Yarmouth officials said in a statement on Wednesday. “Our hearts are with both families, their loved ones, and all who are grieving during this very difficult time.”
Massachusetts State Police detectives with the Cape & Islands District Attorney’s Office are investigating the incident with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The collapse triggered a large mutual aid response from surrounding Cape Cod communities and state agencies.
At the scene on Tuesday, Yarmouth Fire Chief Enrique Arrascue highlighted how authorities responding to the collapse earlier in the morning found two people in the trench.
“One …. was buried up to about his waist,” Arrascue said. “And then another person that had heroically jumped in, in an attempt to rescue and help, and he also got himself in part of the trench collapse.”
Those two victims survived, with one getting himself out on his own, at about 8:55 a.m., minutes after first responders received a call. The other, buried up to about his waist, took a little longer to be extricated, at about 1:20 p.m., town officials have said.
“Rescue operations continued until the third worker [identified as Miguel Reis on Wednesday], who succumbed to his injuries, was removed from the trench at approximately 2:45 pm,” a release from the town states.
The trench collapsed in the area of 152 South Shore Drive in South Yarmouth, the address of The Skipper Restaurant and Chowder House, near Parker River Beach.
That’s just two-tenths of a mile away from 174 South Shore Drive, the address of a Revoli Construction incident on Dec. 18, 2024, according to an OSHA inspection detail record.
The report states, “Workers were exposed to arc flash, electrical burns, electric shock and electrocution when electrical extension cords with indoor-rated connectors were left lying on wet ground.”
OSHA issued an initial penalty of $11,585 to Revoli Construction, with the Franklin-based general contractor paying a $6,950 fine as part of a “formal settlement,” reached this past August, according to records.
“The employer did not initiate and maintain a safety program which provides for frequent and regular inspections of jobsites, materials, and equipment to be made by a competent person,” the OSHA report states.
Arrascue declined to answer any questions about the history or integrity of Revoli, the Cape Cod Times reported on Tuesday.
Yarmouth awarded Revoli Construction a $17.9 million contract for a phase of the $207 million sewer project in the spring of 2023, according to town records.
The Cape Cod Times reported in September that some store owners along Route 28 feel that they are “in the middle of hell” because of the project’s impacts.
A community group called Cape Cod Concerned Citizens reacted to Tuesday’s incident, saying a “tragic project has now become a tragedy.”
“Yarmouth’s sewer project has already frustrated residents with endless detours, torn-up roads, and struggling businesses,” the group stated in an X post. “Today, it sadly got much worse with a worker killed in a trench collapse. The construction madness on the Cape is truly off the rails.”
Want more insights? Join Working Title - our career elevating newsletter and get the future of work delivered weekly.
