Vancouver Fire Chief Karen Fry tweeted that crews pulled eight people from the rubble, with at least two taken to hospital. Asst. Chief Dan Moberg says structural supports have been put in place to allow crews to remove debris and search the building for more, which is expected to take several hours. That step was to wait for engineers to assess the damage caused when an area about nine by 12 meters caved in around 1 p.m. Moberg says construction involving drilling into a section of the parking lot was underway when it collapsed. The incident closed the Lougheed Highway between Rupert Street and Boundary Road, a major thoroughfare for traffic. Emergency Health Services reports that the two patients were taken to hospital. He did not provide details on their condition. Moberg says about 30 firefighters rushed to the scene along with police, while EHS said four ground paramedic units responded. Vancouver police declined to comment, saying this is an ongoing incident with multiple agencies responding and will provide updates when they have more specific information. WorkSafeBC, the province’s worker safety agency, says it has launched an investigation to determine the cause of the incident, including contributing factors. The Morning Update and Afternoon Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.
