Construction workers exposed to chemical fumes at Hotel Riu site in Midtown

Three construction workers were injured Wednesday at a Midtown job site after being exposed to chemical fumes, with one worker in critical condition.

The workers were working at 741 Eighth Avenue, between West 46th and West 47th streets, when they fell ill around 2 p.m., the New York City Fire Department said. The site, Also Known As 301 West 46th Street, will hold the 31-story Hotel Riu Plaza New York Times Square.

The worker in critical condition was rushed to Bellevue Hospital, according to the New York Post, while the other two were in stable condition. The FDNY’s HazMat team responded to the scene in an attempt to identify the chemical that sickened the workers as well as its source, a spokesperson said.

At the same construction site last year, a 25-year-old man fell to his death after riding an elevator powered by an “unsafe,” jerry-rigged electrical system, the New York Daily News reported last year.

The city subsequently issued two violations for the improper electrical system against the property’s owners, an affiliate of Spanish hotel chain Riu Hotels & Resorts, according to the Daily News. [NYP and NYDN] – Rey Mashayekhi