Bridgeport officials and others gathered Wednesday at City Hall to mark the 21st anniversary of the state's deadliest construction accident.

L'Ambiance Plaza came crashing down around 28 workers in 1987 as they constructed the site, killing them. Some of those who dug through the rubble to find their co-workers and friends attended the solemn ceremony.

A labor leader explained workers were pouring all of the building's floors at one time on the ground floor, then lifting them to where they belonged. Each slab weighed millions of pounds.

"They don't lift them one at a time. They lift them all and then they just start to stack them as they go up and then people would get underneath and work," said AFL-CIO President John Olsen.

The accident ended the practice of "lift slab" construction in Connecticut.Four local students received awards for their labor-inspired artwork during the event. Their work will hang at City Hall.