Person in hospital and works stopped after incident at HS2 vent shaft

The five people involved in the incident were supporting construction of the Mandeville Road vent shaft on the high-speed rail project when the incident occurred at around 10.30am on Saturday. Work at the site has stopped while an investigation is under way.

The site in Northolt, west London, is managed by HS2’s main works civils contractor, Skanska Costain Strabag joint venture (SCS JV). 

An HS2 spokesperson told T&TI that emergency services arrived swiftly at the scene, where four of the injured workers were able to get out of the shaft. The fifth person needed assistance because of their injuries and was immediately taken to hospital by ambulance. The person remains in hospital and is being treated for a back injury but none of the injuries is reported to be life changing.

The other four received hospital check-ups after being treated at the scene for minor cuts and bruising and were discharged the same day.

The HS2 spokesperson said the organisation was working with SCS and the Health & Safety Executive to investigate the cause of the incident.

“To facilitate this, all construction work at the site has stopped,” the spokesperson said. “Four people involved in the incident have been discharged from hospital. One individual remains in hospital and is receiving treatment for a back injury. We wish them well with their recovery.”