Oct. 09 -- A man was killed and five others were injured Monday when a building under construction in West Dallas collapsed, fire officials say.
Six construction workers were in the three-story townhome in the 2600 block of Borger Street, near Singleton Boulevard, when it caved in shortly before 2 p.m., Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman Jason Evans said.
Five were taken to hospitals with injuries not thought to be life-threatening, including bumps, bruises and fractures.
Raul Ortega Cabrera, 35, was confirmed dead at the scene. His body was removed from the debris several hours after the accident.
A crew supervisor said the Arlington man was a father of two children and that his wife is expecting their third.
Cadaver dogs searched the wreckage and found no other victims.
A supervisor for Texas Core Concrete, Fidel Barrera, was not on the site at the time but said workers were sheltering from rain inside the townhome when it collapsed.
Dozens of people were said to be near when the building fell.
"Considering how devastating that collapse must have been, we are very fortunate that the people who did survive survived," Evans said.
It is not clear if the weather was a factor in the incident, but a storm was moving through the area at the time.
No further information was provided about what may have caused the collapse.
Evans said the investigation will go through the construction company, which he did not identify.
The U.S. Department of Labor requires all employers to notify the Occupational Safety and Health Administration when an employee is killed on the job or suffers a work-related hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye. Fatalities must be reported within eight hours.
It was not clear if the death had been reported to the agency, which could not be reached Monday night.
The area, not far from Trinity Groves, is experiencing a construction boom as developers focus on housing, including townhomes and single-family residences.
Barrera, the supervisor with Texas Core Concrete, said his company was a contractor for Megatel Homes.
Shortly after the collapse, a woman was seen removing Megatel signs from the surrounding area. An employee who answered the phone for Megatel Homes hung up and subsequent calls went unanswered.
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