Body of missing bridge worker pulled from St. Lawrence River

The body of aconstruction worker who fell into the St. Lawrence River after thebridge platform he was working on collapsed has been pulled from the water.

TheSretduQubecsays the body of the44-year-old man fromSainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac was found at around 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Police haven't released the man's name.The body was recovered by searchcrews from the CSST, Quebec'sworkplacehealth and safety board.

The man fell into the water after the hanging scaffolding unhooked from the edge of the Champlainicebridgearound 12:20 p.m.

The ice bridge, which includesa pedestrian and bicycle path,is just west of the main Champlain structure and serves to break up springtime ice.It has been closed to traffic since July to allow construction workers to reinforce the deck.

Harness would have been required, CSST says

Jean-FranoisSguin, who also worked at the site,told reporters workers normally aren't required to wear a harness to work on the platform and a life jacket also isn't required.

He said workers relied on guard rails to keep them safe.

Sguinsaid he didn't witness the accident himself because he was working with another crew.

However,JulieCasaubon, an inspector with theCSST, said the worker should have been wearing a harness in this case,because the guard rails were down whiletheplatform was in the process of being moved.

She saidit's unclear whetherthe worker was actually wearing one when the platform came unhinged.

Ice bridge closed for search

Construction work and access to the ice bridge, including the pedestrian walkway, bikepath and commuter shuttle service, was suspended Tuesdaydue to the accident.

Also known as the estacade, the ice bridge was built in 1964-65to help break up potential ice jams.

According to the Jacques-Cartier and Champlain Bridge Corporation, the structure"runs parallel to the Champlain Bridge about 1,000 feet (305 m) upstream. It is 6,700 feet (2,043 m) long and extends west-east between Nuns' Island and the St. Lawrence Seaway."