A worker was killed Thursday afternoon on his first day on the job after a building partially collapsed on Chicago's Near South Side.
Just after 12:30 p.m., a construction crew was working on one side the building at 505 E. Pershing Road in the Bronzeville neighborhood when the structure's roof came crashing down, the Chicago Fire Department said.
“One of the guys over there said he hearing the guy saying ‘help’ when was working on the concrete right there,” said worker John Collier.
The CFD said they worked to free a person who had been trapped after the structure's roof came crashing down, but it may have been in vain.
“The joist gave out,” Collier said, adding that the falling building “instantly killed him.”
A little over an hour later, the CFD confirmed one person was found dead in the wreckage. Information has not been released as to what caused the unexpected collapse or the victim's identity.
Video from NBC 5's helicopter showed numerous firefighters, paramedics and an ambulance on the scene among the rubble.
Authorities said the building was extremely unstable.
