PHILADELPHIA, June 5 (UPI) — One person was killed and 13 were injured when a building collapsed and a building next door partially fell Wednesday in downtown Philadelphia, KYW-TV reported.
Citing sources it did not identify, the Philadelphia TV station said the body of one person was found inside a Salvation Army thrift store. Philly.com reported the condition of the last person known to be trapped in the rubble was unknown, with firefighters still surrounding that area of the debris.
City Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers said those rescued were in stable condition at various hospitals with minor to moderate injuries, the TV station said.
Philly.com reported a four-story structure that housed a closed sandwich shop on the first floor and apartments above collapsed at 22nd and Market streets. The back wall of the Salvation Army thrift shop also tumbled.
The noise of the buildings collapsing sounded like a “freight train,” a witness told Philly.com.
A police spokeswoman said there was no explosion and called it “an industrial accident,” Philly.com said.
A fire department official confirmed there did not appear to have been an explosion and said construction workers were demolishing one of the buildings, Philly.com said.
Rescuers dug through the debris looking for survivors.
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