right now.
>> Channel 2 news begins right
now with breaking news.
>> Breaking now at 4 a
stairwell collapse leaves 3
people dead and one injured in
West Houston, this is at a
construction site I’m Town and
country Boulevard near i-ten
this is a marathon oil’s new
office building that is under
construction, these are images
of the damage from sky 2 we’ve
been following this story on
air and online for the past
couple of hours. We have
several crews is live on the
ground covering the
developments following the
collapse we want to begin with
Andy cerota joins us now for
where this all happened 80.
>> It could afternoon I want to
set the scene here for you this
is as far as we can go you can
see the yellow crime tape.
It has been put up to seal off
this area. I want to draw your
attention to the chunks of
concrete and all of the rubble.
That’s the result of that
partial stairwell collapse that
took place this afternoon.
We’re told that injured worker
who was rescued by a technical
team is now in the hospital and
is stable hft telling us all
240 workers who are at the
scene including the 3 who were
killed and a worker who is now
in the hospital have been
accounted for sky 2 over the
scene earlier this afternoon.
As I was telling you a
stairwell under construction on
the far outside perimeter of
the building partially
collapsed around one 30 this
afternoon age if he says it
appears it collapsed from the
ground up to the 5th floor and
some on the 13th floor, the
impacts from this collapse.
We’re told may have gone all
the way up to the 15th floor.
A worker sent us some pictures
which. He says shows us the
stairwell in question the one
that partially collapsed the
other picture he sent us shows
us the aftermath of that
partial collapse you can see
again the chunks of concrete
and the rubble on the ground
floor littered all across the
ground. Certainly hft has their
work cut out for them this
afternoon. They say right now
is just too difficult to
pinpoint the epicenter origin
of this partial collapse only
that the entire stairwell has
been compromiso they can’t do
much at this point in terms of
getting inside the building to
do a secondary search warrant
investigation.
>> Anytime you have a primary
collapse of one of the
structure, the construction,
your biggest concern the
secondary collapse. Workers are
currently waiting for
structural engineers to come
from.
>> How we can make entry and sure that there are no fun
sure that there are no fun
rostered employees.
>> The missing.
>> We actually asked a shifty
about inspections. Any
inspections that took place at
this building and we were told
that any time there is a
building under construction.
There are inspections that are
done periodically as the
structure is being built but a
chipped he did have the
timeline for us at this point
as of right now the names of
the 3 workers who were killed.
Those names have not been
released nor do we know the
name of the worker that was
injured and pulled from the
rubble of this building.
Reporting live in town and
country in West Houston, Andy
cerota KPRC.
>> Channel 2 news Andy. Thank
you jails is Phil Archer
continues our team coverage of
this breaking story. He is also live near the site of this
live near the site of this
collapse in West Houston until
you spoke with some of the
workers at that site.
>> Well we talk a lot of people
we talked to workers we talked with some of the neighbors
with some of the neighbors
around here we talk with some
of the rescue workers. What’s
interesting about this is some
of these folks telling us it
sounded like a bomb going off
and that it felt like an
earthquake on same time people
in the same vicinity. It didn’t
know about it until the fire
trucks started showing up now.
What we’re talking about here
is and you described is several
stories of concrete stairs.
Collapsing on each other we
understand are still 3 men who
were caught in that crash.
They were dead, they were still
in the rubble, there waiting to
go in. But instead was going to
go and see if they can take
them out. We have a brief piece
of video here I want to roll 48
very brief is only about 2
seconds it was shot by one of
the workers and it shows what
it was like just as those
stairs went down the chaos and I guess you have to say the
I guess you have to say the
confusion it certainly looks
confusing right now. They came
in just a light ice age very a
very short. But there’s an
awful lot of power. Coming up
out of the out of the floor
there after all that concrete.
It came down now, somebody who
is right next to it is a
construction A gentleman named
Chris mercado that we talked to
just as we got here. He was on
the ground he was unloading a
truck right up in there.
When he saw what was happening,
you saw that big cloud of dust
but after the farewell came
down. And started running.
And what he what he was telling
us was it was well, he is a
gentleman frankly who said it
was like an earthquake. Let’s
listen them.
>> I was one of the first
people down to love. Everybody
else is still out there around
13 around the 13 floor and away. They got pretty close to
away. They got pretty close to
the building 16 floors and.
>> They made it to the 14th to
collapse.
>> The of course caught the
construction workers. The week
we had 240 with well joining 40
witnesses to this. That’s how many construction workers are
many construction workers are
outside here all accounted for
think and he said 3 dead.
One injured also though this
building this new 16 story
office building going up to be
a marathon oil building is
right and surrounded apartment
complexes and so a lot of
neighbors. Caught wind of this.
Many of them heard some of them
saw some of them were in their
apartments in here see anything
until they walked out and saw
the fire trucks, one of the
folks here that we talked to
him or a surprise. I felt a
personal connection. She says
it for months now the
construction workers have been
coming and going past replace
you see some at the beginning
of the day at the end of the
day season going to watch said
she felt like they sort of
friends and now she’s worried
about those that are
unaccounted for. There’s we see
>> Pretty much every day when
they get up or walk to their
cars and we see them at lunch,
we see them all the time so
it’s you know, so it’s like you
know like you even they don’t
know them so it just it really
makes me sad for their
families.
>> And we heard about this we
heard the helicopters and
wanted to come over here we can help out as we heard about the
help out as we heard about the
deaths and injuries and so.
>> We just want to help out.
>> That last bite with reverend
Andy Ganges with the pines
Presbyterian Church they’re
just on the other side of this
building. He was there. With an
associate pastor this afternoon
he heard the rumble and then
came outside and then began
hearing rumors about people
lost in the right about the
about the collapse of people
lost in the wreckage. Again
right now where we are we have
the Fire Department. It’s
taking this out there going
bring in engineers to try to
stabilize the building. We
don’t know how long that’s
going to take it could be hours
it could be days before they
can go in and take out 3 know
were killed in the in the
collapse and we’re still in
there. So we’re going to be
here throughout and as new
developments arise, we’ll have
them for you live, reporting
live in southwest Houston, I’m
Phil Archer KPRC Channel 2 news
certainly a sad situation for
we appreciate the update our
hearts go out to.
>> The families of those 3