One person remains unaccounted for after a parking garage roof collapsed in East Vancouver on Thursday.
Vancouver Fire Rescue Chief Karen Fry confirmed on social media Friday that one person was still being sought. Officials confirmed that eight people were rescued on Thursday and two were taken to hospital, but did not provide details on the extent of their injuries.
“We have specialized heavy equipment and (people with) experience in collapsing structures that make everything possible,” Fry said.
Trevor Connelly, assistant chief of operations for VFRS, told CTV News Vancouver Friday that the team has a general idea of where the unidentified person may be. He said conditions at the site were unstable and that about two dozen people were on the scene.
“There are many, many concerns in a situation like this. The structure that remains standing is unstable and must be treated as such. The pieces that are there are very big, very heavy,” he said.
Connolly said his team still doesn’t know why the collapse happened. Although the car park has a weight limit, it is not known if this was exceeded.
He said he and his team tried to contact the person but got no response.
“We tried to contact and we got no response or any noises to indicate a location that someone was there,” he said.
The collapse happened shortly before 1:30 p.m. at a building on Lougheed Highway between Rupert Street and Boundary Road, according to VFRS.
“The bobcat was doing some work on the section of the parking lot roof that gave way,” Assoc. Chief Dan Moberg told CTV News on Thursday. “Part of the roof car park then collapsed onto office space below.”
In an email to CTV News, British Columbia Emergency Health Services said four ambulances were sent to the scene.
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