A parking structure partially collapsed outside a mall in Wisconsin Thursday afternoon, bringing down rubble and a pile of snow about 10 feet high.
No injuries have yet been reported, and two cars were damaged, North Shore Fire Department Chief Robert Whitaker said, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Whitaker said that based on a review of surveillance video, “We’re fairly confident there is no one in that space.”
The collapse occurred at the Bayshore shopping complex in Glendale. A large emergency response arrived at the scene, where firefighters dug through the tall snow pile that came down with part of the second floor.
Video posted on social media showed firefighters digging out the snow.
Another video also showed a close-up view taken by a driver near the edge of the collapse and a vehicle crushed in the rubble.
Whitaker said the incident was reported around 12:15 p.m., FOX6 News reported. It drew assistance from the Milwaukee Fire Department’s Heavy Urban Rescue Team, which, according to its website, is geared toward “specialized crisis rescues.”
Whitaker said it was “likely” that the weight of the snow pile contributed to the collapse. An investigation into the incident is being launched, the Journal Sentinel reported.
An anonymous witness, who said he reported the collapse, described the moment to FOX6 News.
“I heard something in the background – ‘boom, boom’ – and I felt the walls shake,” they said. “I felt like I was in danger for my life.”
Darius Fox, who works at a pizzeria in an adjacent building, told the Journal Sentinel that the collapse “sounded like a bomb.”
“It shook the whole building,” Fox said. “It’s just a shock because nothing usually happens out here like that.”
The Bayshore is an open-air shopping complex with dozens of shops northeast of Milwaukee that was established in 1954, according to its website.
This was a breaking news story. The details were periodically updated as more information became available.
