Jose Ramirez, of Raleigh, N.C., along with two coworkers Carl Gene Fisher, of Wadesboro, N.C., and Hubaldo Medina Andrade, of Chapel Hill, N.C. was killed when the unfinished parking garage collapsed. A fourth worker was hospitalized in critical condition.
Approximately 15 workers were on the site when the garage collapsed. The men were part of a construction crew from North Carolina who were on a 15-day assignment at the site.
Witnesses reported hearing a popping noise that occurred almost simultaneously with the collapse of the garage, which had been under construction for about six weeks,
Rescuers used a variety of search methods to try to find the trapped worker: cameras attached to cables to view voids in the wreckage, a search dog and thermal imaging. Eventually, the dog picked up the scent of the body and searchers were able to remove it from the wreckage. It is believed Ramirez was working between the fourth and fifth floors.
Investigators from Maryland Occupational Safety and Health and OSHA are on the scene.
