Pier 58 on Seattle's Waterfront partially collapses, two workers injured

Partial collapse of Seattle Waterfront Pier 58

Two workers were injured when Pier 58 partially collapsed Sunday along the Seattle waterfront. Crews were working to remove the pier.

SEATTLE - Two construction workers were sent to the hospital after the Pier 58 on the Seattle Waterfront partially collapsed on Sunday.

Seattle Police were called to the pier around 4 p.m. Sunday after reports of several workers in the water.

Seattle Fire officials said two workers sent to Harborview Medical Center where they were listed in satisfactory condition.

Three other workers were able to evacuate the pier when an alarm went off, officials said.

Seattle Department of Transportation officials said in a press briefing shortly after the incident that about a fifth of the pier collapsed on Sunday. They said there did not appear to be any impact to other piers or nearby buildings.

The City of Seattle began construction on the pier this weekend. The pier between the Seattle Aquarium and the Great Wheel holds up Waterfront Park — a boardwalk space with benches, scenic views and telescopes.

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said on Twitter that she was grateful to the first responders who rescued the workers.

Seattle shut the park and hired the firm to do an assessment after discovering last week the pier had shifted, leaving a gap between it and the Elliott Bay Seawall, which was recently rebuilt on the edge of the land.

Seattle Structural, a private engineering firm, recommended Pier 58 be removed within 90 days, a news release from Durkan’s office said. The city was planning to renovate the pier as part of an overhaul of the entire waterfront after the removal of the Alaskan Way Viaduct — just not so soon, The Seattle Times reported.

The pier is expected to be closed due to construction until 2024.