Friday, a structure collapsed at a housing complex in Newark, New Jersey, resulting in six injuries and the destruction of three apartments.
At approximately 6 p.m., Newark Police and firefighters responded to a building collapse at a Newark Housing Authority property on South Pine Lane.
According to Fox 5 New York, the incident injured six people, one of whom was gravely hurt. Five victims were transported to the hospital, while one refused care. According to officials, the victim was transported to the burn unit at Saint Barnabas Hospital.
Due to the collapse, thirteen families were displaced from their residences. They have been relocated to hotels and fed while investigators sort through the detritus at the Department of Housing and Urban Development-funded property. The Red Cross also assisted at the site.
“It is a traumatic occurrence. Several residents have evidently been displaced as a result of this. Newark’s mayor, Ras Baraka, stated at a news conference that the city is providing complete support to the Housing Authority so that “we can provide what we can.”
“These residents will not be permitted to return to this property until we have determined that it is safe,” he added.
According to Fox 5 New York, residents were able to sense the building’s collapse through their floors and walls while windows flew nearly 100 feet from the apartments. The parking lot of the building was littered with glass shards.
“All of a sudden, my door just flew open, and the lock came off,” a resident told the outlet. “I was terrified and unable to move.”
Fritz Frage, the director of Newark’s Department of Public Safety, stated at a press conference that crews turned off the gas to investigate the cause of the catastrophe. Officials were unable to ascertain if the damage was caused by a gas explosion.
