Worker killed, 3 injured after highway beam falls in Chicago suburb

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A construction worker was killed and three others suffered minor injuries when a 45-ton steel beam fell along a highway in a suburb northwest of Chicago early on Tuesday, a fire official said.

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An old 187-foot-long overpass beam was being removed when it fell between two lanes of Interstate 90 in Des Plaines, Illinois, located near O'Hare International Airport about 20 miles from Chicago, Des Plaines Fire Chief Alan Wax said.

Fire officials were dispatched to the scene at 2:53 a.m. local time, Wax said.

See more from the scene in the gallery below:

It is not known what caused the beam to fall, Wax said. He added that Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials were investigating the incident.

One construction worker was taken to a hospital in critical condition and died from his injuries, Wax said. Three other workers were taken to hospitals with minor injuries.

Some lanes of the highway were closed after the incident and traffic on a road below was restricted, Wax said.

The construction work was part of a project to rebuild and widen the highway, Wax said.