Denver Ten-Story Building Collapses, Workers Escape Major Injury

DENVER (AP) -- An old hospital building being demolished collapsed prematurely on Wednesday but workers were able to escape major injury, firefighters said.

Ten stories of the old Mercy Hospital in Denver came down Wednesday as construction workers continued a demolition that began last year, Denver Fire Department spokesman Lt. Phil Champagne said. Firefighters responded to the rubble with search dogs but were told all the workers at the site had been accounted for.

No major injuries were reported but some workers may have gone to the hospital for dust inhalation, Champagne said. The building was about two-thirds demolished when the collapse occurred.