A worker became trapped under a pile of debris this morning after a significant collapse at a row house in Northwest Washington, D.C., initiating a rescue operation that was still in progress at the time of the latest reports. D.C. Fire and EMS officials confirmed to WTOP that the incident occurred at approximately 9:36 a.m. at a row house undergoing demolition on V Street near the U Street corridor.
The structure's condition remains precarious, leading the rescue team to proceed with extreme caution, and the stability of adjacent buildings could be at risk. The trapped worker's identity, who remains inside the collapsed row home, has not been disclosed to the public, the department is "proceeding with extreme caution due to precarious condition of structure," as stated by the officials via WTOP News.
Emergency response teams, including a K-9 unit, are diligently working to free the individual, who was reportedly in the basement of the two-story building when it gave way. DC News Now reported that the call for the collapse came in just after 9:30 a.m., indicating the urgent nature of the accident and the rush to respond.
Photographs depict a chaotic scene, with a yellow pole bracing an upper-floor room that has canted threateningly downward. On the audio obtained from the call to authorities, an emergency dispatcher could be heard relaying the grave situation, "Patient is trapped under bricks," highlighting the immediate danger faced by the worker. This information was confirmed by NBC Washington, who also provided visual evidence of the incident's severity.
The area surrounding the affected structure has been blocked off by authorities to facilitate rescue efforts and ensure the public's safety. This incident adds to a recent string of structural failures in the District, following a similar collapse of a three-story building the previous week, which did not result in any injuries, as reported by WTOP. The exact cause of today's collapse, however, remains under investigation.
