Three men rescued from collapsed building on wharf in southwestern N.S.

Three men were injured when a building under construction on the wharf in Newellton, on Cape Sable Island, collapsed early Thursday evening with them inside.

All three were extricated within two hours of the collapse, which happened at about 5:40 p.m. Their injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, said RCMP Staff Sgt. Jeff West.

The building was a fish plant, said West.

Because it was a workplace accident, staff from the Labour Department would inspect the scene, he said just after 7 p.m.

After initial reports of the collapse, a LifeFlight helicopter was called out, but none of the three had injuries that required an emergency flight, said West.

Mike Swim, station chief at the Island & Barrington Passage Fire Department, said the three men were working on the building near the wharf in Newellton when the roof came down.

Swim said two of the men escaped from the building with minor injuries, but the third was badly hurt as he fell from the roof and was trapped in its trusses.

The man was rescued after firefighters spent 45 minutes cutting through the trusses with reciprocating saws, Swim said.

The emergency call to Highway 330 in Newellton came in at 5:40 p.m., said Stacey Brown, spokeswoman for Emergency Health Services.

Three ambulances also raced to the scene, as well as local fire departments, whose volunteers managed to rescue the three workers.

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Three men rescued from collapsed building on wharf in southwestern N.S.