Emergency crews are on the scene in Vancouver where a rooftop parking garage collapsed into an office space below, injuring several people.
Vancouver Fire Chief Karen Fry tweeted that crews had pulled eight people from the rubble, with at least two sent to hospital.
Assistant Chief Dan Moberg says structural supports are in place to allow crews to remove debris and search the building for others, which is expected to take several hours.
That step was to wait for engineers to assess the damage created when an area of about nine by 12 meters collapsed at around 1 p.m.
Moberg says construction, which involved drilling through part of the parking lot, was underway when it collapsed.
The incident closed the Lougheed Freeway between Rupert Street and Boundary Road, a major traffic route.
Emergency services reported that the two patients were transported to the hospital. It did not provide details on their condition.
Moberg says about 30 firefighters attended the scene along with police, while EHS said four paramedic ground crews responded.
Vancouver police declined to comment, saying this is an unfolding incident with multiple agencies responding and will provide updates when more specific information becomes available.
WorkSafeBC, the provincial worker safety agency, says it has launched an investigation to identify the cause of the accident, including contributing factors.
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