WASHINGTON, Pa. (AP) – A woman who was trapped for more than nine hours near a refrigerator and underneath other debris after parts of two floors in her dilapidated apartment building collapsed has been rescued.
The collapse was reported Wednesday morning at a three-story building housing a barbershop on the first floor and apartments above it in Washington, about 25 miles (about 40 kilometers) southwest of Pittsburgh.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that crews punched through a wall and debris to save the woman Wednesday evening. Officials earlier said crews were hampered by the precarious nature of the building and had to dig through a large amount of debris.
Washington County’s director of public safety, Jeff Yates, said the woman was either near or under a refrigerator and in a relatively safe spot and crews had been able to speak to her. Officials said she was conscious and alert and was taken by ambulance to a hospital. Two other people were earlier taken to a hospital for treatment.
Resident Edward Cook told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette he ran for his life when he heard the building collapse, something he predicted as he and a friend played video games.