Worker dies pinned underneath a 5-TON concrete slab for seven hours after an eighth-floor balcony collapsed at a Jersey Shore condo building: Witness heard him screaming ‘get it off me’ before air bags used to lift it away
- Jose Pereira, 43, of Philadelphia – who worked for Ferguson Constructing Inc. in Pennsylvania – was pronounced dead around 10pm on Friday
- He was working on the exterior of the Spinnaker Condominium Complex at 2.30pm when the 8th-floor balcony collapsed onto the 7th-floor, pining him
- Witnesses heard screaming after the collapse and after a complicated rescue mission, he was retracted and pronounced dead around 10pm
A construction worker has died after being pinned underneath a five-ton concrete slab for seven hours after an eighth-floor balcony collapsed in Jersey Shore.
Jose Pereira, 43, of Philadelphia – who worked for Ferguson Constructing Inc. in Pennsylvania – was pronounced dead around 10pm on Friday by a Cape May forensic nurse, according to the Sea Isle Police Department.
Jose was pinned around 2.30pm when the eighth-floor balcony, attached to Unit 712 and weighing around 11,000 pounds, collapsed onto the seventh floor in the Spinnaker Condominium Complex. The building was built in the 1970s.
Witnesses heard cries for help after it collapsed, according to CBS News.
‘Just total chaos,’ witness Joye Fiocchi told the outlet. ‘Just people screaming. I called 911 right away.
‘And it’s just 20 minutes later, I heard him screaming again. I guess he was saying get it off of me, and I never heard anything [after].’
Jose Pereira, 43, of Philadelphia – who worked for Ferguson Constructing Inc. in Pennsylvania – was pronounced dead around 10pm on Friday by a Cape May forensic nurse
Jose was pinned around 2.30pm when the eighth-floor balcony, attached to Unit 712 and weighing around 11,000 pounds, collapsed onto the seventh floor in the Spinnaker Condominium Complex
Eric Hupperich was on break when he felt the collapse ‘through our bodies.’ He told CBS News: ‘It was a really, really loud boom.’
Police attempted to rescue Jose, but was unable to do as the surrounding area has ‘significant cracks’ and the building was determined to be ‘unsafe.’ Building residents were evacuated from the condominium.
After bringing in more equipment, authorities stabilized the seventh-floor balcony, before cutting in 12 inches of reinforced concrete. Crews lifted the slab with ‘heavy life airbags’ and they were able to pull Jose out from under.
After bringing in more equipment, authorities stabilized the seventh-floor balcony, before cutting in 12 inches of reinforced concrete. Crews lifted the slab with ‘heavy life airbags’ and they were able to pull Jose out from under
Two other contractors sustain minor injuries, according to CBS News.
Private engineers will conduct inspections on the building and residents are not allowed back until it is completed. All the balconies on the south tower are being reinforced.
Police are investigating.
