Investigators with the Nova Scotia Department of Labour are probing an industrial accident at the Dalhousie University campus on Tuesday morning.

A worker was reaching for a pipe when he fell about three metres from scaffolding at approximately 7:45 a.m. on Tuesday, said Halifax Regional Police. It happened at a building under construction on Oxford Street, near the National Research Council building.

Emergency crews rushed to the scene and the man was transported to hospital.

A firefighter on the scene told the CBC's Phonse Jessome that the man may have broken both his ankles, but seems otherwise fine.

A spokesperson with RKO Steel Ltd. — a subcontractor working on the project — told CBC News their worker did not suffer trauma to his head or back in the fall. The company said the worker in question is an experienced steelworker who recently moved to Halifax from Newfoundland.

Halifax Regional Police officers responded to the call and began an investigation at the scene, said Const. Brian Palmeter.

"First and foremost, we have to look after public safety. We have to treat anyone injured and prevent anyone else from being injured," he said Tuesday.

"Secondly, we have to secure the scene because of the fact that it may become a criminal investigation."

Palmeter said industrial accidents are treated like crime scenes and if negligence is found, the charges are typically handled by the provincial Department of Labour and Advanced Education.

"Ultimately, these types of investigations are handled by their agency so if we see evidence of foul play, we'll secure that evidence," he told CBC News.

"It may not be that we move it but we may secure the scene and preserve it until such time as Department of Labour investigators can get on scene."

A spokesperson for the Department of Labour said the inspector will interview witnesses and examine the scaffolding on the site. The investigator will also check what fall protection devices were in place at the time of the accident.