Three people have tragically died after a 15-story building that is under construction partially collapsed as a stairwell came crashing down across several floors.

The incident occurred in west Houston, Texas, where a building standing in the 990 block of Town and Country Boulevard partially collapsed around 1.30 in the afternoon on Monday.

According to the early reports of the Houston Fire Department, it appears that a stairwell at the building collapsed, causing the falling debris to fatally injure three workers. Another construction worker reportedly had to be rushed to the hospital where they remain in a stable condition as of this writing.

As the officials have confirmed, they fear that another stairwell collapse is possible. The skyscraper itself, however, is allegedly not in danger of collapsing.

“We’re going to take all the time necessary to ensure the safe recovery of the bodies. It’s a very unstable structure,” Assistant Fire Chief Ruy Lozano told the Houston Chronicle.

Speaking of the devastating moment a section of the stairwell collapsed, one of the workers said he had heard a “loud banging sound” before all he saw was smoke.

“I was on the eleventh floor. They’d just called us. They’d told us to come done and unload some materials. I went down [to the first floor],” the worker told KTRK.

“As soon as I got down and started unloading materials, out of nowhere I heard a loud banging sound, and it sounded like the building was collapsing … All you see is a bunch of smoke.”

Following the collapse, an investigation has been launched in order to get to the bottom of the matter responsible for the deaths of three workers. The authorities have also confirmed they will retrieve the bodies as soon as possible.

According to the reports, the 15-story building in question is a part of the One MRO project which was announced by Marathon Oil earlier this year.

 

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