Posted on 10/17/2014 4:58:02 PM PDT by Gamecock
MINEOLA (WABC) -- Rescue crews have removed two construction workers who were trapped following a ceiling collapse at a building on Long Island.
Officials say the workers were removing asbestos inside a building on County Seat Drive in Mineola when the accident happened.
A large piece of concrete with wire racks reportedly collapsed on the workers.
PAL Environmental Services of Queens had been prepping the building for asbestos abatement.
From Newscopter 7, you could see them carrying one of the two injured workers from the building after a ceiling they were working on collapsed on top of them, burying them in debris that may be contaminated with asbestos.
Officials say 19 workers were in the building at the time. The injured workers, 22 and 46 years old, were directly under the section of ceiling that collapsed. They were covered by debris and had to be dug out.
The two victims were decontaminated for asbestos exposure as a precaution and then transported by a Nassau County Police Ambulance to a nearby local hospital for treatment.
The other 17 workers were not injured.
"The supervisor came up to us on the third floor," a worker said. "He told us to get out of the building and then when we got downstairs, they made us shower. They didn't tell us why."
Other workers also said they got no information about what happened, and when they tried to talk to Eyewitness News, a person from the construction company pulled them back onto the work site and behind closed gates.
The space where the ceiling collapsed is now contaminated by asbestos.
The building, the old Nassau County Department of Social Services headquarters, is unoccupied and has been undergoing renovation for some time.
The Nassau County Police say all 19 workers and some police went through decontamination procedures because of concern of possible asbestos exposure.
The injured workers were not seriously hurt, the rest weren't even sure if they should be worried.
"I can't tell you how I feel," a worker said, "I don't even know what happened."
Mineola?
That’s where “The Drake” lived!
If it was on County Seat Drive, it had to be one of the government office buildings. They should just burn it down. No loss; Nassau County is a political mess.
From reading the article, it is a concrete building. Burning it down is not going to get you much. If you read further, you would see that they renovating for a new use. I could not find any article as to what new use is planned, but a county building review document from 2003 show that the building was in bad shape then.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.