15-year-old girl dead, and 3 injured after partial building collapse in Rhode Island
It happened just after 5:30 p.m. at the Portuguese American Citizens Club located on Power Street. Police said that 75 people were in the building at the time of the collapse and that they received reports of people trapped underneath the front stairwell.
"It appears that they were on the landing and then the landing collapsed," Portsmouth assistant fire chief Howie Tighe said.
Two 17-year-old girls and a 49-year-old woman were injured in the incident, according to fire officials. All three were taken to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence with significant injuries. There is no update on their condition.
"So the immediate rescue of two of the injured parties was pretty quick. They weren't necessarily trapped in a real complicated manner," Tighe said. "Then there were the two that were significantly trapped, and obviously one of them took upwards of 45 to 50 minutes because of the amount of cribbing we had to do, trying to lift the concrete wall up because she was trapped underneath it."
Several towns' fire departments and first responders assisted with the incident.
Governor responds to partial building collapse
"Our hearts are with the Portuguese community and all those impacted. I'm deeply grateful to the first responders and praying for everyone's safety," Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee said on social media.
Police are investigating what led to the collapse, but said they had ruled out rumors of a car crash. None of the victims have been identified.
Portsmouth, Rhode Island, is approximately 20 minutes from Newport and 30 minutes from Providence.
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