Authorities have confirmed that a worker killed in a trench collapse in Yarmouth was employed on the town’s massive $207 million sewer improvement project — a job run by a Massachusetts-based contractor that previously faced federal safety violations at nearly the exact same location. The victim, identified as 61-year-old Miguel Reis of Fall River, was working for Franklin-based Revoli Construction, a company OSHA fined last year after inspectors cited unsafe conditions on the project.
Town officials released a statement Wednesday, acknowledging both the loss of life and the additional injuries. “Another man involved in the incident was rescued and is currently receiving care at Rhode Island Hospital,” the statement read. “Our hearts are with both families, their loved ones, and all who are grieving during this very difficult time.”
The collapse prompted what responders described as a large, multi-agency mutual aid response from surrounding Cape Cod towns and state agencies. Detectives from the Massachusetts State Police, working with the Cape & Islands District Attorney’s Office, are now investigating alongside OSHA.
Yarmouth Fire Chief Enrique Arrascue described how firefighters discovered the trapped workers when they reached the scene. “One …. was buried up to about his waist,” Arrascue said. He added that “another person that had heroically jumped in, in an attempt to rescue and help, and he also got himself in part of the trench collapse.”
One of those workers was able to escape on his own just minutes after the 8:55 a.m. emergency call. The second required a prolonged rescue effort, finally being freed around 1:20 p.m. According to the town, “Rescue operations continued until the third worker [identified as Miguel Reis on Wednesday], who succumbed to his injuries, was removed from the trench at approximately 2:45 pm.”
The deadly collapse occurred at 152 South Shore Drive, just steps from the Skipper Restaurant and Chowder House — and only two-tenths of a mile from where OSHA previously cited Revoli Construction for workplace hazards nearly a year earlier. According to federal records, the December 18, 2024 incident occurred at 174 South Shore Drive, also on the same sewer project.
The OSHA report stated, “Workers were exposed to arc flash, electrical burns, electric shock and electrocution when electrical extension cords with indoor-rated connectors were left lying on wet ground.” Revoli Construction initially faced a penalty of $11,585, ultimately paying $6,950 as part of a “formal settlement.”
A key statement in that OSHA record drew attention to oversight failures: “The employer did not initiate and maintain a safety program which provides for frequent and regular inspections of jobsites, materials, and equipment to be made by a competent person.”
Chief Arrascue declined to comment on the contractor’s safety history, according to a Tuesday report from the Cape Cod Times.
The town awarded Revoli Construction a $17.9 million contract in spring 2023 for a phase of the sewer expansion, a major infrastructure project many local business owners say has devastated traffic and commerce. In September, business owners along Route 28 told reporters they feel “in the middle of hell” because of the ongoing disruptions.
After the fatality, a community group known as Cape Cod Concerned Citizens criticized the project’s growing toll. The group posted on X that a “tragic project has now become a tragedy.” Their statement continued: “Yarmouth’s sewer project has already frustrated residents with endless detours, torn-up roads, and struggling businesses. Today, it sadly got much worse with a worker killed in a trench collapse. The construction madness on the Cape is truly off the rails.”
Originally reported by Lance Reynolds in Boston Herald.
