New Jersey

Church Ceiling Collapse Injures 14 in New Jersey

Fourteen people were injured, one of them seriously, when a ceiling collapsed during Easter services at a Methodist church in New Jersey, authorities said.

As many as 100 worshipers were inside the Korean Union United Methodist Church in Rahway when the ceiling began to crumble during a Spanish-language service, according to Rahway Police Chief John Rodger. The ceiling bulged and suddenly crashed atop the pews, a witness said.

One man carried a woman on his back out of the church. Everyone was able to exit the structure before police and fire crews arrived.

"God saved me and my family and everyone in this church," said 13-year-old Ashley Soto, who wasn't injured.

Thirteen people were taken to Rahway Hospital with minor injuries. One person, who sustained a cut to the head, was taken to University Hospital in Newark.

The worshipers were members of the Manantial de Vida Pentecostal congregation, which rents the church.

The church was built in 1850, according to an online property record. 

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