One person was killed and at least two others were missing Saturday after part of an under-construction hotel collapsed in New Orleans.
Another 18 people were treated for injuries at local hospitals, New Orleans Fire Chief Timothy McConnell said in a news conference, ABC News reported.
A third person originally believed to be missing was accounted for, said McConnell, who warned later in the day of a “very strong possibility” of a second collapse.
“We are praying for the individuals who remain unaccounted for,” Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards told reporters. “It’s not proper to say they are trapped because we don’t know.”
Video shows construction workers running for their lives as the upper floors of the Hard Rock Hotel New Orleans crumbled and a crane collapsed on Rampart Street near Canal Street, on the edge of the tourist-packed French Quarter.
A large steel beam, hoisted up by one of the cranes, swayed in the air above the portion of the building that collapsed, New Orleans’ CBS affiliate reported.
After the collapse at about 9:12 a.m., a second piece of the building fell around 10:45 a.m. as authorities worked to reach the missing workers, sending search dogs inside the precarious structure, according to NOLA.com.
Buildings near the unfinished hotel were evacuated.
It was not immediately clear what caused the collapse.
