Trapped workers rescued from collapsed Washington building

Emergency personnel place an injured construction worker into an ambulance for transport to the hospital after he was extricated from the debris after a building undergoing construction collapsed on Kennedy Street in Washington, U.S., July 1, 2021. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

WASHINGTON — Search and rescue crews on Thursday freed a construction worker who had been trapped for more than 90 minutes inside a partially-built five-story building that collapsed during a rain storm in Washington.

The man, who was not identified by authorities, was taken to a local hospital with “serious but not life-threatening” injuries, said John Donnelly, assistant chief of D.C. Fire and EMS.

Four other construction workers were rescued from the debris shortly after the building about 5 miles (8 km) north of the Capitol came down at around 3:30 pm (1930 GMT), Donnelly said.

They were also taken to a local hospital. They had non-life-threatening injuries, Donnelly said.

Images showed dozens of firefighters swarming over piles of wood left behind by the collapse, using saws and heavy equipment to move large pieces.

Last week, a condominium tower collapsed in Surfside, Florida as most residents slept. Searchers there have recovered 18 bodies and say another 145 people remain missing.

President Joe Biden traveled to the scene of the 12-story Champlain Towers South in Florida on Thursday.