What to Know
- A seven-story building collapsed in Poughkeepsie Monday, likely due to stormy conditions
- A woman working inside the boutique she owns there was trapped in the rubble; firefighters worked for hours to rescue her
- She was taken to a local hospital with a fracture to her leg; she was talking and expected to be OK
A seven-story building collapsed in Poughkeepsie Monday afternoon, sparking an hours-long search and rescue of a woman trapped inside.
The building collapsed onto a three-story building at Academy and Cannon streets, fire officials say. Rotany Hargrove, who was working inside the boutique she owns there, got trapped in the rubble.
She was said to be in good condition and talking as firefighters worked for four and a half hours to get her out.
"Hopefully she's all right," said her brother, Robert Hargrove. "That's the only thing I'm concerned about, is her well-being, that's it."
Neighbors recalled hearing the building collapse: "You heard a crashing noise, it moved," said Cici Patterson. "You can hear this woman screaming for help."
The high-risk rescue consisted of more than 40 firefighters working slowly and carefully to remove the rubble.
"Under normal circumstances, we wouldn't have anyone near this building, but we have a person in there who is healthy and alive, and we're going to do everything we can for her to get her out," said Poughkeepsie Fire Chief Mark Johnson.
Local
Hargrove was taken to a local hospital with a fracture to her leg, officials said.
There were no other serious injuries, but many residents were told to leave nearby apartments because of concern the buildings could come down.
