A Manhattan parking garage collapsed after an explosion on Tuesday, killing one person, injuring five others and trapping multiple people, according to the New York Post.
🚨#BREAKING: Parking Garage Collapses in Reported Explosion Trapping and Injuring Multiple People
Currently Multiple Emergency personnel are responding to a parking garage where multiple floors have collapsed due to an explosion. Several people are… pic.twitter.com/rHPzrKi5RF
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) April 18, 2023
The three-story Pace University parking structure’s upper levels caved in at around 4:15 p.m., sending cars crashing down, according to ABC 7 NY. The building has been evacuated by officials and classes were canceled, according to Fox 8.
“It felt like an earthquake,” said Pace student Liam Gaeta, who reported hearing “a large noise and a big rumbling” prior to being evacuated, according to Boston.com. (RELATED: Car Crash Into Building, Causing Massive Collapse And One Death)
Of the five people injured, four were transported to the hospital while one refused medical attention, according to the Post. Firefighters told the Post that they rescued at least one person trapped by the collapse.
At one point in the operation emergency responders were pulled out of the building due to concerns about its structural stability. Drones and the FDNY’s Boston Dynamics robotic dog were then sent to survey the garage, according to the Post.
Mayor Eric Adams arrived on the scene at 4:40 p.m. and was briefed by emergency crews, a Twitter post from the NYC’s Mayor’s Office stated.