A construction worker died on the job in Vaughan after a steel beam struck him. Distraught co-workers could be seen hugging after the tragedy.

"We just got word ... a coroner has been requested," Sgt. Gary Phillips of York Regional Police told CTV News at about 2 p.m. on Monday.

He said that the call came in at 1:15 pm. from 612 Applewood Cres. in Vaughan.

That location is near Highways 7 and 400. The accident happened on the fourth floor of a hotel project, reportedly a new Marriott project.

"A beam became dislodged or fell, struck one of the workers, and unfortunately the worker succumbed to his injuries at the scene," Insp. Graham Beverly of York Regional Police told reporters at the scene.

He estimated the beam's weight to be up to 455 kilograms.

"There were people who were eyewitnesses, and we are in the process of speaking to them now and in the process of determining what they saw and what actually did happen when the beam came in contact," Beverly said.

Plumber Dante Di Giuseppe, who wasn't on the site when the accident happened, said: "Everybody's upset. It shouldn't happen." But he added, "But what are you going to do?"

Platoon Chief Gary Fraser of Vaughan Fire and Rescue told reporters that firefighters and paramedics quickly arrived.

"We dispatched originally with enough trucks ... to perform a Stokes basket rescue," he said, referring to a technique used to transport patients from either high or low locations.

"Paramedics worked on the patient, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. He remains in the same location he was."

Firefighters removed the body late in the afternoon.

The job site was shut down pending the arrival of the coroner and Ministry of Labour investigators.

The family showed up at the site shortly before 6 p.m. and were obviously distraught, CTV Toronto's Jim Junkin reported.

With a report from CTV Toronto's Jim Junkin