1 dead, 2 missing in Philadelphia parking garage collapse | LIVE
PHILADELPHIA -- At least one person is dead and two others are believed to be unaccounted for after a parking garage partially collapsed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ABC Philadelphia affiliate WPVI has learned.
Just after 2 p.m. Wednesday, calls came in for the collapse, Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Jeffrey Thompson said. Search-and-rescue operations began immediately and remain ongoing.
Sources confirm that one person who was pulled from the rubble died at an area hospital. Two others are still missing.
A large pile of debris was visible on one side of the garage. First responders have been focusing their efforts on the lower levels of the structure, which officials believe includes either an elevator shaft or stairwell.
One witness said he was driving by and reported hearing a rumble. Others said at first, they thought it was an earthquake.
"I was in the kitchen, and we heard like an explosion, thought it was a storm, bomb, something we didn't know what it was," said Andrew Martines of Grays Ferry. "My wife, she was upstairs, and she heard people screaming and running out. She saw a huge cloud of smoke. The house was shaking."
Thompson said the structure is compromised and will need to be stabilized before further search-and-rescue operations can safely continue. The effort is expected to continue through the evening.
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The cause of the collapse has not yet been determined.
Officials have closed off the surrounding area to allow additional crews to bring in heavy equipment to begin removing debris.
The seven-level parking garage was under construction for the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. It was being built to expand CHOP employee parking.
The project had been the subject of controversy, including protests earlier this year. The group that protested was concerned about the increased congestion and potential impacts on environmental health.
