Two Workers Injured In Beacon Hill Transformer Explosion

BOSTON — Two workers were injured, one seriously in a transformer explosion in Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood Tuesday.

Fire crews responded to the explosion across the street from 37 Bowdoin Street - which is the address for Grotto - an underground subterranean Italian restaurant, just before 6 p.m.

Both workers were employed by Eversource Energy and were taken to Massachusetts General Hospital by Boston EMS, the Boston Fire Department said.

At least one of those workers suffered what fire officials are calling life-threatening injuries.

"At this time, our focus is on our employees' well-being and making sure they receive the medical treatment they need," newly-appointed Boston Fire Commissioner Paul Burke said. "Two workers just doing their job and they were injured doing their job. It's very sad, so, hopefully, they're alright."

Sounds of loud noises and explosions were heard from witnesses at nearby buildings, with enough strength to shake nearby buildings.

Eversource released a statement saying they were performing routine maintenence on a piece of underground material in the area.

Nearby buildings and apartments were evacuated as crews worked to put out the flames, but multiple outlets reported witnesses continuing to hear booms after the power was cut.

After a short time, Burke said all firefighteres monitored the air quality and reassured people it was safe to go back inside.

Members of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were on the scene to help investigate what caused the explosion.