A section of a parking garage under construction at a community
college collapsed Wednesday, killing two people and trapping two others
in the rubble, officials said. One worker was rescued amid the debris,
but there was too much concrete around the other to immediately get
him out.
At least 10 other workers were hurt when the roof of
the five-story concrete garage fell, creating a pancake-style collapse
on the campus of Miami-Dade College, officials said.
"It was a
floor upon floor, collapsing all the way down to the ground floor,"
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Capt. Louie Fernandez said.
The trapped
worker was pinned inside a vehicle. He was receiving oxygen, had an IV
inserted into him and was being treated by a physician and a paramedic.
Officials did not describe the extent of his injuries. They said it
could be hours — possibly even days — before they can rescue him.
"It's going to be a long, tedious effort," Fernandez said.
Dogs,
firefighters and other people in hard hats walked over piles of
concrete, plywood and metal to look for other possible victims.
Authorities believed at least one more worker was still unaccounted
for, and they were trying to make sure everyone else was OK. Many
workers left the site without telling authorities.
Victoria
Buczynski of Miami said she saw the collapse while she was working at
Gurkha Cigars across the street from the construction site at the
Miami-Dade College.
"It fell to the ground like a house of
cards," Buczynski said. "The construction workers started running out,
screaming. It was loud. Our entire building shook."
No students
were in the area at the time. They campus was evacuated and closed for
the rest of the week. Investigators planned to pick through the rubble
to see what caused the garage to crumble.
"We just know that the roof collapsed," Miami-Dade Fire-Rescue spokeswoman Griselle Marino said.
William P. Byrne,Find the lowest prices on Air purifier.
president and chief executive officer of the garage contractor, Ajax
Building Corp., said an internal review was being launched to determine
the cause. Byrne said the company would embrace "any additional
protocols, policies and procedures that will enhance and ensure the
continued priority of safety."
Marino said three people were
initially trapped in the rubble, including the man who died. Another
eight were taken to a hospital, she said. Two injured workers were
treated on the scene.
One of the rescued was pulled out from
under a steal beam by four firefighters. His face and hands were bloody
and he was put on a stretcher and carried away, according to a video
shot by Miami-Dade Fire-Rescue and provided to The Associated Press.
The
construction site looked like a typical one. A large crane stood
beside the pile of rubble. Pickup trucks, trash bins and a
tractor-trailer were nearby, as were ladders, a cooler and piles of
wood.
Ground was broken on the $22.5 million project in
February, and the 1,855-space garage was to be finished in December,
according Ajax's website.
The first floor was to have classroom
and office space. The structure is next to the college's main office
building and nestled among other campus buildings.
The college
serves about 8,000 students and is one of several campuses in the
Miami-Dade College system. This campus opened in 2006.
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