At least one person has died and 14 were injured after building collapsed in downtown Philadelphia earlier today, June 6, according to Reuters.
Thirteen injured people were taken to local hospitals, said Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers, who declined to comment on multiple media reports that the 14th person died.
The city issued a demolition permit for the four-story structure on Feb. 1 according to CNN.
A four-story building under demolition collapsed onto a nearby two-story Salvation Army Thrift Store at 2140 Market Street at 10:45 a.m., trapping the people inside the store.
Those who rescue workers were able to pull out from the rubble suffered "minor injuries" and are currently in stable condition as of press time.
The Search-and-rescue operation will continue for at least another "12 to 24 hours," police said in a press statement.
Dan Gillis, 31, a construction worker on a job across the street, said he saw a crane remove a supporting beam from the front of the building, and then the wall next to the thrift store started "swaying" according to Reuters
Jeffrey Fehnel, 48, said at around the same time a backhoe hit the rear side of the building.
"The building came down. It was like a big blast," Fehnel said to Reuters.
Despite the eyewitness accounts, police have said the cause of the collapse was "still under investigation."
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter said in a press statement that rescue workers are searching for more survivors.
The building collapse shook the ground so hard that it knocked a man off his feet on the sidewalk according to another nearby witness who spoke with Reuters.
"There was a big aftershock," he said. "There were people that fell over; there were people screaming and running across the street," said Jordan McLaughlin to CNN. We could hear people screaming inside the building."
Police have "urged" people to stay clear of the area as rescuers dug through the rubble.
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