A worker was killed and five others were injured when a four-story parking garage collapsed in Manhattan on Tuesday.
Authorities did not suspect foul play in the collapse of the parking structure, located in Manhattan’s financial district, Reuters reported. New York City Mayor Eric Adams called the building “completely unstable.”
“We have no reason to believe that this was anything other than a structural collapse,” said City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell.
A worker at the structure was pronounced dead at the scene. Four were injured and taken to hospitals, and another was hurt but declined medical treatment, according to John Esposito, chief of fire operations for the New York City Fire Department.
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Sandy Imhoff, 78, said the experience was “so unreal” from an adjacent apartment.
“My building was shaking. I only had time to grab my dog and leave the building,” she said.
Thai Nguyen, 35, who manages a nearby sneaker store, said “it all happened so fast.”
“People ran inside asking if they could take refuge inside our store,” they said.
The parking structure is used by students, staff, and faculty at the nearby Pace University, which was evacuated as a precaution, according to Reuters.
A Pace University freshman, Zach Powers, described his view of the collapse from his dorm room, CNN reported.
“It lasted for 10 seconds, which was surreal,” he said. “Then I see smoke flying towards our window, so I walk over to the window and see cars falling into a hole that’s in the middle of the garage.”
The incident marked the first time New York City firefighters flew a drone into a fallen building to search, according to Esposito. City police announced last week that they were acquiring two robotic “Digidogs” for use in situations like bomb threats.
Video on social media appeared to show firefighters with a similar robot dog responding to the parking garage collapse.
This was a breaking news story. The details were periodically updated as more information became available.
