Houston Fire Department officials said some workers weren’t accounted for after a scaffolding collapse at a historic building in downtown Houston.
HOUSTON — Search efforts are underway downtown after a construction incident at what appears to be a recently designated historic landmark in Houston.
It appears to have happened at the Battelstein’s building on Main Street near Rusk Street.
Houston Fire Department officials said the initial call came in around 12:20 p.m. Tuesday.
According to HFD, some workers aren’t accounted for and efforts are underway to find them.
Witness account
A witness said she was having lunch nearby when she heard what sounded like an explosion. That’s when she said construction workers in the area started quickly moving around.
She said she saw a dented crane as well as the debris from collapsed scaffolding. She said she heard that a piece of concrete fell on the crane and then the crane fell on the scaffolding.
“It looked like the crane was dented and the scaffolding had collapsed onto the sidewalk,” Samantha Jarvis said.
Another witness said she heard two groups were working at the scene and at least one worker from one of the groups was unaccounted for. She also said she heard something about a concrete block falling and hitting the crane.
Historic landmark
In December, Houston City Council approved five buildings to be granted landmark designation.
Among them was 806 Main St., where the construction incident happened on Tuesday.
The structure was a two-story building when it was built in 1924. It grew to ten stories by 1950. It functioned as a high-end department store from 1924 to the 1980s. It represents Houston’s post-WWII architecture. It is owned by SWVP JW Houston, LLC, which plans to transform it into a hotel.
KHOU 11 News is sending a crew to the scene. This is a developing story and updates will be added to this article when they become available.