3-story parking garage partially collapses in NJ; rescuers trying to reach 1 person trapped

Rescuers trying to reach 1 trapped in NJ garage

HACKENSACK, N.J. — Rescuers are trying to reach one person trapped in a car in a parking garage that collapsed in northern New Jersey.

Hackensack fire Lt. Stephen Lindner says the emergency workers can see the victim but can’t get to the person because they are concerned about the possibility of another collapse. They could not determine the victim’s condition.

Lindner says authorities are checking out reports that two to three more people might also be trapped.

A glass canopy fell off of a high-rise condominium building and onto the garage two stories below on Friday, partly flattening the structure and damaging vehicles.

Television footage shows a driveway next to the building littered with dirt, debris and glass, and wide cracks in the pavement.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

HACKENSACK, N.J. (AP) — A glass canopy fell off of a high-rise condominium building and onto a parking garage two stories below on Friday, partly flattening the structure and damaging vehicles, authorities said. Workers couldn’t immediately get into the rubble to check out reports that two people could be trapped inside.

The possibility of another collapse was keeping out firefighters, Hackensack fire Lt. Stephen Lindner said.

The Bergen County Office of Emergency Management said it was looking into unconfirmed reports that two people may be missing.

The three-level garage “pancaked” when the canopy fell on it, said Chris Baldo, who lives in the adjacent high-rise condominium tower.

Baldo told local television station News 12 that he was in his first-floor unit when he heard “rumbling that sounded like an earthquake or a plane, like something hit the building.”

Irene Casapulla, who lives on the second floor, said she heard “a bunch of thumping, and all of a sudden it sounded like an earthquake.”

Television footage showed a driveway next to the building littered with dirt, debris and glass, and wide cracks in the pavement.

It’s unclear why the canopy fell. Several residents said workers had uprooted a tree between the street and the building within the past few months, and that a leak in the basement of the building was being fixed.

Emergency workers were helping residents leave the building as a precaution. One firefighter was wheeling a luggage cart stacked with cases of water for emergency workers out in the 90-degree heat.