A house collapsed in Syracuse, New York, on Tuesday afternoon, injuring at least 11 people, officials said.
Syracuse Fire Chief Michael Monds told reporters in a news briefing that crews responded to reports of an “explosion” and collapse at the home, and arrived to find “multiple victims outside.” Firefighters had to pull at least one youth from a car buried in the rubble, he said.
“The building had indeed collapsed,” Monds said. “It was a very dangerous scene. There were power lines down and there was a dangerous smell of gas.”
In a follow-up news briefing late Tuesday evening, Monds said no bodies were found during extensive searches using K9s. The fire chief said there were believed to be 13 people in the house when the collapse occurred and all of them were taken into account.
“We have no reason to believe that no one is missing,” Monds said. “All the people – from the bystanders and people who were in the house – say there were thirteen people there. And we believe these are the thirteen people who reached the hospital.”
The 11 patients, a mix of children and adults, were taken to Upstate University Hospital and two of them were in very serious condition, Monds said.
Police and fire officials will investigate what caused the collapse of the house, which dates back to 1920, the police chief said.
More than 50 firefighters responded to the collapse and had to be rotated back and forth because of the extreme heat that swept across Syracuse and other parts of the country on Tuesday, Monds said.
Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh said he had spoken to New York Governor Kathy Hochul about the incident.
“Gov. Hochul reached out to her directly, I spoke to her,” Walsh said. “The New York State Commissioner of Homeland Security reached out as I was on my way to the scene and spoke (and also) with the county government. And again, just a tribute to all the agencies involved, but especially our first responders. “
