The bodies of two men have been recovered from a construction site in Ajax, Ont., after a trench collapse on Monday, police say.

Durham Regional Police confirmed two bodies were found and pulled out of the trench by rescue crews at about 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday after an “extensive recovery operation.”

Authorities said the large trench at the site near Rossland and Westney roads caved in around noon, burying two workers and injuring two others.

One of the injured was taken to a local hospital for a broken ankle, while another was airlifted to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, police said.

Firefighters and crews using heavy excavating equipment worked through the night trying to retrieve the buried men. 

The Ontario Ministry of Labour said it was holding the scene on Tuesday to investigate the cause of the collapse. In an email to CBC Toronto, the ministry said an investigation is ongoing. 

The ministry said the construction company involved in the accident is Grascan Construction Ltd. and the employer of the workers who died and were injured is Direct Underground Inc.

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