[kellyhound]

A vacant building being demolished collapsed onto a thrift store in Philadelphia this morning, trapping more than 12 people under the rubble, some for hours.

Two people remained trapped Wednesday afternoon under "tons of rubble," Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers told.

"We have located them and we're going to continue until we can get them out and we can get them to hospitals," he said.

Mayor Michael Nutter later said officials don't know for certain if anyone else was trapped.

Twelve people rescued earlier were taken to area hospitals with minor injuries. Another woman walked away from the scene with no major injuries after being trapped for more than two hours, Nutter said, bringing the total of people freed from the rubble to 13.

University of Pennsylvania Hospital was treating 4 patients from the collapse, according to hospital spokesman Stephen Graff. Hahnemann University Hospital was treating 2 patients, according to hospital spokeswoman Gianna DeMedio. They were in fair condition.

The building collapsed onto the Salvation Army Thrift Store next door with an ominous rumble, witnesses said.

"You felt it shake," Jordan McLaughlin told. "There was people that actually fell over. People started screaming, they ran across the street. There was people inside the building, you heard them scream."

He said he helped 2 people out of the building. Other bystanders, including construction workers, helped 4 or 5 others out in the moments after the collapse.

Witness Ari Barker said he was in his office across the street when he heard "a rumbling, a very unusual sound." He rushed to the window to see a plume of dust rising from the debris.

Another witness, said she felt the ground rumbling as the building collapsed.

"The first thing that came to my mind was a terrorist attack," she said.

Philadelphia Police described the collapse as an "industrial accident. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been told it was an accident at a demolition site, and it has investigators on the way.

There were "no existing violations" at the building, a city building inspector said.

Rescue crews were digging through the debris "brick by brick," said Mike Kenish, who owns a nearby tavern.

Nutter said the rescue effort would have to proceed delicately.

"This is dangerous work," he said.

The collapse occurred Wednesday morning in a heavily traveled area of the Philadelphia's Center City neighborhood. It happened near the Mutter Museum, a popular tourist destination that houses medical oddities.

The museum said on Facebook that it would be closed until further notice. While its building was undamaged, the museum said police were using its facilities as a staging area for the rescue operation.

[ldelgadillo]

bad day to be poppin' some tags in the thrift store

[Zambini]

Diamondsmiles where's our on the scene reporter?

[Faline]

Least no one died

Edit, i am now aware 6 people died.

[DannyDrama]

:

[kellyhound]

The search-and-rescue operation for additional victims of the Philadelphia building collapse ended this afternoon after 14 people were rescued and six were killed.

Mayor Michael Nutter told that officials were confident there were no more people buried beneath the rubble where the four-story building collapsed on Wednesday morning, falling on top of a two-story building that housed a Salvation Army thrift store.

The search-and-rescue operation lasted 30 hours.

A 14th survivor was pulled from the rubble of a collapsed four-story building in central Philadelphia minutes after officials said six people were killed and at least 13 people were injured.

Rescue workers used buckets and their bare hands to move bricks and rubble to free a 61-year-old woman late Wednesday night identified as Myra Plekam of Kensington, Pa

Officials released the identities of the people who were killed: Kimberly Finnegan, Borbor Davis, Anne Bryan, Juanita Harmin, Mary Simpson and Roseline Conteh.

Family and friends of Finnegan, who was 35, Davis, who was 68, and Bryan, who was 24, have all released statements about the deaths. All three were in the Salvation Army when the building next door fell.

[Hunted]

Contribution to the thread by Hunted:

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[gatagato]

***Update
Demolition worker in Philadelphia building collapse was reportedly high on pot and pills



The crane operator believed to be responsible for a June 5 building collapse in Philadelphia that killed six people and injured 13 was allegedly high on marijuana and codeine at the time of the accident.

According to the Associated Press, city officials investigating the incident say that Sean Benschop, 42, tested positive for drugs in the hours just after the accident.

Benschop, who is currently missing, faces six counts of involuntary manslaughter, six counts of risking catastrophe and other charges, said Deputy Mayor Everett Gillison to the AP.

Police raided Benschop’s home Friday, but did not find him. Calls to his phone are reportedly not being returned.

Police at the scene said that Benschop appeared intoxicated on the day of the accident, speaking in a barely-audible voice and seeming disconnected from his surroundings. He told officers he had been taking codeine since cutting his finger in a recent accident.

The demolition worker was operating an excavator device when he knocked part of the building being demolished on to a Salvation Army shop next door. Four customers and two employees — one of whom was working at the store for the first time that day — were killed when the Salvation Army building collapsed.

Benschop, who also goes by the name Kary Roberts, has been arrested at least 11 times since 1994 on charges varying from theft and possession of drugs to trafficking and weapons possession. He was sentenced to prison twice and accused of aggravated assault in January of 2012.

Accusations of negligence are being hurled at contractor Griffin Campbell, for whom Benschop was working. According to attorney Robert Mongeluzzi, Campbell violated multiple safety ordinances. The lawyer also cited building owner Richard Basciano for not choosing a more competent contractor.

“This is the most egregious construction accident I think I’ve ever been involved in,” said Mongeluzzi to the AP.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/06/0...nd-pain-pills/

Update # 2

Philadelphia equipment operator surrenders to police

The excavator operator who was demolishing a four-story building in downtown Philadelphia this week when it collapsed onto a Salvation Army store, killing six people, has turned himself in to police.

Sean Benschop, 42, is to be charged with six counts of involuntary manslaughter, 13 counts of reckless endangerment and one count of risking a catastrophe, Philadelphia police spokeswoman Jillian Russell confirmed in an email to The Times. Benschop turned himself in at the Central Detectives Division after a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Sean Benschop, center, with a red jacket over his head, walks with investigators toward the Philadelphia Police Department's Central Detectives Division. He turned himself in to face charges, police said.

[daughterofthenight]

that's ONE down, they need to go for the rest of the company and the building owner, cheap son of a bitch.

[DiamondSmiles]

Originally Posted by Zambini ↗

Diamondsmiles where's our on the scene reporter?

I'm sorry. I did hear the story and will post a picture of the drugged, casted crane operator, if I don't see him here. He's here.

I had some things going on last week, but, they're all fixed now.

I have a high school education and common sense tells me to evacuate the little store next door before doing any heavy demolition of this type

I've said it before. It is so sad that people don't give a shit about their jobs or others anymore