Two workers are unaccounted for after firefighters battled a massive, five-alarm blaze that broke out Thursday morning at a construction site in Charlotte, North Carolina.
More than 90 firefighters were called to the scene and had not yet extinguished the fast-moving flames, said Charlotte Fire Chief Reginald Johnson at a news conference held hours after flames initially erupted around 9 a.m. ET. Exposed wood at the construction site allowed the fire to move quickly, reaching scorching temperatures well over 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the chief.
Firefighters respond to a massive fire that broke out at construction site near the SouthPark area in Charlotte, North Carolina, on May 18, 2023.Crews rescued 15 workers from the blaze, Johnson said. Fire officials previously told CBS News that a tower crane operator, who was working at the construction site when the fire broke out, was rescued and safely on the ground. The operator was transported to a hospital with injuries that are not life-threatening.
Johnson said two workers remained unaccounted for at the time of the news conference, citing confirmation from the construction site foreman. Videos and images shared on social media show bright orange flames engulfing part of a large building complex in the North Carolina city's South Park neighborhood, an area known for its large namesake shopping center. Additional footage taken by CBS affiliateHuge flames are seen billowing out from the roof of the structure in a separate video, recorded by the Twitter user @mr_veal from inside a building across the street.
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