Search for People Trapped in Philadelphia Building Collapse

Philadelphia Building Collapse Search Underway

WPVI/ABC News

 

Firefighters are at the scene of a building collapse where as many as eight to 10 people may be trapped in Philadelphia, June 5, 2013. (WPVI/ABC News)

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By COLLEEN CURRY

June 5, 2013

A four-story building collapsed in Philadelphia's Center City this morning, possibly trapping people, injuring 12 individuals and damaging nearby structures.
Rescue workers shortly after noon were working to extricate two people from the basement of the building who are alive beneath the rubble, Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers said at a news conference.
Twelve people have already been pulled from the debris and transported to local hospitals. All are in stable condition, Ayers said.
The vacant mixed-use commercial building was in the process of being demolished when it collapsed, according to city inspector Carlton Williams. Authorities are unsure how many construction workers were at the site when the building collapsed.

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When it fell, the structure collapsed onto a smaller, two-story building that was home to an active Salvation Army Thrift Store, authorities said. The thrift store was damaged but is still standing.
"We want to be sure to keep the focus on the firefighters that are actively engaged in search and rescue," Mayor Michael Nutter said at the press conference today. "We had a significant number of people on the scene, and we will continue this operation until we are certain that anyone who was in the building has been taken out of building and is recovered."
Firefighters were first dispatched to the building at 10:43 a.m. and arrived at 10:45 a.m. to begin working, Ayers said.
A 10-block stretch of Market Street, which runs through the city, was shut down for the rescue effort.
Williams said that both the building's owners and the contractors had all of their permits and paperwork in order and up to date, and the building had no prior code violations.
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