Six construction workers were taken to Rhode Island Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries Tuesday morning after an athletic building collapsed at Bryant University.
The injured, all males, were working on a turf practice facility under construction at the campus.
Smithfield Fire Chief Robert Seltzer said the call that a steel structure had fallen over came in about 8:15 a.m. Several rescue crews were dispatched to the scene.
Some of the workers were trapped in the debris, and some may have fallen from about 30 feet, according to rescue officials. They complained of back pain and lower leg injuries.
Everybody was conscious when rescue officials arrived, but two had lost consciousness earlier, according to Smithfield Fire Capt. Jonathan Pollak.
"It could have been a lot worse," he said.
Seltzer said officials don't know why the building collapsed. OSHA will investigate.
The building that collapsed is a 78,000-square-foot indoor practice facility with 100 yards of turf for football, lacrosse, soccer and other sports.
It's part of a $75-million capital campaign "Expanding the World of Opportunity" that includes the construction of new athletic and academic buildings.
Construction started in May and the building was to be completed in January, according to Elizabeth O'Neil, associate vice president for university relations.
Workers were putting steel in place that would have held the roof when it collapsed, according to O'Neil.