Rescuers searching debris after parking garage collapse

Dallas Fire Department rescuers rushed to the scene of a partial collapse of a parking garage at a Turtle Creek Boulevard residential high-rise.

The collapse started on the top level of the seven-story garage and debris tore all the way through the ground floor.

No injuries were immediately reported, and rescue crews had found no signs of any people being trapped as of early Friday evening. However, the search was continuing into the night while the building’s managers and authorities are working to account for all residents.

The collapse occurred about 4:45 p.m. at the Renaissance on Turtle Creek.

The residential development’s pool is on top of the parking garage, and according to several residents it was being remodeled.

One resident told our media partners at KXASTV that the area where the collapse occurred was being used as a staging area for the project and that bricks and dirt were sitting atop the garage, collecting rain during the overnight and afternoon storms.

Joel Lavender, a Dallas Fire Department spokesman, said investigators aren’t certain yet whether rain played a part in the collapse: “That’s the million-dollar question.”

He said a structural engineer would help determine what led to the collapse.

Authorities haven’t determined how many vehicles were caught in the collapse, but they said searchers had heard no cries for help and had found no one who was hurt in the accident.