Chicago Building Collapse: Two Women And A Dog Pulled Out From Rubble

Two people and a dog that were trapped under the rubble following a Chicago building collapse were rescued by crew from the Chicago Fire Department, reports Reuters. According to firemen, the structure used to be an apartment building that apparently collapsed following an explosion. The building collapse happened in the Washington Park neighborhood of the city.

According to neighbors in the area, a loud explosion was heard from the building at around 7 pm local time on Sunday from the 5800 block of South Calumet Avenue, after which the building collapsed. Rescue personnel reached the scene within minutes and rescue operations commenced. According to the Chicago Tribune, the first woman was rescued at around 7:20 pm, while the second woman was pulled out alive at 7:40 p.m. Authorities do not believe there are any more people still buried underneath the rubble — however, they are working all through the night just to ensure that someone unaccounted for isn’t trapped underneath.

“We will pull it apart though just to make sure,” Chicago Fire Department Chief of Special Operations Michael Fox said.

Describing the scene of the incident, Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said, “The whole building is pancaked.”

Meanwhile, the conditions of both the women rescued from the building collapse remain critical. The ages of the victim are reported to be 51 and 78. The older woman was admitted to Stroger Hospital in Langford, while the other woman was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center. Both of them were able to speak to the rescuers when they were helped out of the building, though. A dog belonging to one of the women too was pulled out alive.

It is unclear as to what the actual cause of the building collapse is.

“As we go through it we will have a better idea of what caused it. We’re not sure if it was an explosion or just a collapse,” says Michael Fox.

According to Angela Brooks, a woman who lives in a building next door, the building collapse sounded like an exploding transformer. She added that her car, which was parked near the collapsed building, is now covered in rubble. One of her neighbors rushed to the collapsed structure before fire officials got there in a bid to start rescue operations. They were aware of the fact that there were people inside the building at the time of its collapse.

“We were all freaking out,” she said. “We knew people were home.”

[Image Via The Chicago Tribune]